The Squib
by Kaylynne
Summary: Once upon a time in a land far away, there lived a girl who was perfectly... ordinary. This is it. The whole thing. Review or no cookie!
1. The Platform

The Squib

Disclaimers: All the usuals… If you recognize it, it's probably not mine. Right now I'm basing the story in JK Rowling's wizarding and Muggle worlds, but the characters are all mine (with the exception of one or two cameos, which will become evident). Enjoy!

The Greys of St. Ives came from a long line of perfectly mundane, absolutely boring, thoroughly unimpressive wizards. Mr. Thomas Harville Grey Jr. had, in 1967, become the first to bring the family any kind of renown, when he shocked everyone by marrying a Muggle (and not just any Muggle, mind you, but an American). Not that the neighbors considered Muggles to be any less than they were, they simply wondered what the children would be like. The wizards of St. Ives had long established a sort of separate-but-equal attitude towards the non-magical people within whose town their own was secretly located. Those people certainly had an interesting lifestyle, and it was occasionally useful to know some of them (just in case you were trapped outside the magical part of town without your wand), but a real wizard would never dream of actually becoming related to them. After all, Muggles were dangerous. Look what happened in the fourteenth century. Eventually the gossip died down, as Emily showed herself to be a gentle and quite civilized young woman. She took an interest in learning some simple charms from a Kwikspell correspondence course, and allowed her sister-in-law to take her shopping for robes. Although she was frequently surprised by things her neighbors considered a part of everyday life, she learned to hide it well and soon could pass for an only slightly inadequate witch. It was not until her son sneezed at the age of two and caused a weed he'd been playing with to turn into a butterfly, however, that the community fully accepted her. Even then a few remained who spoke in whispers of the slim chances for this child's potential, given his mother's blood.

Thomas Grey III disappointed half of the town when he grew up with no visible lack of magical talent. None of them were surprised when he took a job with the Ministry of Magic's Department of Muggle Affairs. He married a witch he met at the Ministry and soon was able to show the suspicious town a bouncing baby girl (Neville Longbottom was not the only child ever dropped as a baby). Mestra would one day become Head Girl at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and a registered animagi, but this is not her story. On his twenty-fourth birthday Tom's young wife announced her pregnancy with his second child. When this daughter was born Cassandra Grey knew immediately that something was wrong, but could not put it into words, so she decided not to worry her husband.

Their first undeniable indication that their second child was unlike their first came when it was time to see Mestra off to her first year at Hogwarts. As much as Alcestis (or Alice, for short) wanted to see Diagon Alley, she was relieved when her father suggested that the two of them spend the day exploring Muggle London while her mother shopped for Mestra's school things. Arriving in London, Tom and Cassandra separated, each taking hold of one of the girls and agreeing to meet at the platform in time to say goodbye to their eldest. Alice somehow felt much more at home in London than she ever had in the wizard community at St. Ives. Though she was ten years old, she had yet to show any kind of magical skill, and she knew that her parents were concerned. Looking around at the people rushing in and out of the Underground stations and driving their automobiles so quickly, she suddenly realized that this was a city full of people like her. They couldn't make things float, or change the color of their mufflers so that they matched their jumpers. They couldn't fly a broomstick, and they had no idea that another world lay so close to their own. Most importantly, they seemed happy. Alice smiled as she pulled her coat more tightly around herself. She did miss the long robes. Her father had planned this trip weeks in advance, talking with Grandma Emily about the latest Muggle fashions (she still kept in touch with some of her non-magical relatives in Virginia, but the family didn't talk about them much). As a result Alice's legs were freezing in their cotton stockings under a green and blue plaid kilt. She supposed she looked just like any of the Muggle students in her Oxford blouse, sweater vest and peacoat, but she could not understand why anyone would layer up so much on top, only to let their bottom half freeze. She wished with every fiber of her ten-year-old body that her mother had let her wear the blue jeans and sweater Grandma Emily had told her about. Closing her eyes, she held her breath and imagined her legs encased in warm trousers. She squeezed her eyes as tightly as she could, thinking only about the blue jeans, concentrating on the blue jeans... tripping over her own two feet.

"Alice! Honey, are you alright?" Her father pulled her up gently.

"Yes! Yes, fine. I'm fine," she told him, clambering back off of her knees and trying not to look as embarrassed as she felt. If he knew that she'd just tried - and failed - another spell, he'd be so disappointed in her. She hated that look in his eyes. The one she seemed to get so often lately that said, "Why can't you be like your sister?" Her wonderful sister, Mestra, who had cast her first spell at the age of eight. Sure, she'd turned the cat purple and had been punished for trying to cast spells before she'd started at Hogwarts, but Alice knew her parents had been proud. That hadn't even been the first of Mestra's magical accidents. When she was a baby her sneeze had made her levitate above her crib. She once cried so hard for her bottle that it had heard her and flown to her room from the kitchen. Alice's childhood had been less exciting. Her cries had only woken the neighbor's dog. She'd been trying, unsuccessfully, to turn the cat purple since her seventh birthday. Last year her mother had caught her trying and reprimanded her for it, but when she'd gone to her room she'd found her grandmother's Kwikspell notes on her pillow. Even with the notes she hadn't had much luck. Now here she was in Muggle London trying again at what she knew was a hopeless case. She rubbed her knee and looked up at her father, who was still leaning over her with that dreaded concern in his eyes. At least this time he could only be worried that she'd skinned her knee. He couldn't know she'd been trying another spell, could he? "I'm fine, Dad, really." She smiled at him and took his hand again. "Let's go. I want to see electricity, and television, and telephones, and -"

Her father laughed, "Alright, then. We'd better get started, hadn't we? What did Grandma tell you about taxicabs?" He hailed a car and Alice soon found herself snugly in the back seat, playing with her seat belt and rolling the window up and down... and up and down...

Two hours later they stepped out of another cab at Kings Cross station. Alice carried two bags of Muggle clothes, a camera, film and enough batteries to run it well into the next century. Somehow the idea of so much power being contained in little metal capsules fascinated her. "Can we go to the cinema before we go home, Dad? Is it true that the Muggles use a camera like this to tape their plays?"

"Actually, Alice, this camera only takes still photographs... the people don't move."

"They don't?"

"No honey, I thought I explained that before you bought it?"

Alice frowned. "I thought you were joking."

"No," he laughed. "Now come on, we need to get to the platform before the train leaves, or your mother will never forgive us. Ah, here we are." He stopped in front of the divider between platforms nine and ten.

Alice looked from the very solid divider to her father. "How do we get through?"

"We talked about this Alice," he said, giving her hand a firm squeeze, but he looked a little nervous too. "All you need to do is take a deep breath-" he took one to demonstrate, "and walk straight through it. I'll go with you. We can even go at a rather brisk pace if you like."

Alice sighed. This was never going to work. There was no magic in her and now everyone would know. She looked back up at her father's pleading face. Well, she'd have to at least try. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she wasn't a.... a... squib. After all, her father's mother had been a Muggle, but after some work with the Kwikspell course she'd been able to get through to see him off. Alice had magical blood, surely that counted for something. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. She stared down the divider.

"Ready?" asked her father.

She took another deep breath. "Ready." She took a step toward the barrier. Then another.

"Come along, it'll be fine, not a problem, we're almost there, nothing to worry about..." her father was mumbling as he pulled her toward the barrier, getting faster and less coherent with each step. Soon they were running at the hard cement. Alice closed her eyes, tensed and lowered her head. Another step and they'd be through, another step and there'd be no doubt of her place in the family...

"Owwwch!" Alice opened her eyes and found herself sitting on the ground in front of the barrier with a massive headache.

"Are you ok, sweetheart?" A middle-aged woman was leaning over her, with a very curious expression on her face. "Why did you run into the wall like that? And what happened to-"

"Mom? Mom, where are you?" called a young man's voice from the crowd.

"Oh dear, I'm coming sweetheart!" she called back. "You are all right, aren't you honey?" she asked as she bustled off to her own child.

Alice began to cry. It was true then. She would never fit in with her family. Never go to Hogwarts, or play Quiddich, or learn spells.

"Alice? Honey, are you all right?" Her father had returned. He sat down beside her and put his arm around her. "It'll be ok, love. Just wait. You aren't eleven yet; there's still time."

"No, Dad," she sobbed, "I can't do it... I'm... I'm a... " she almost choked on the word, "squib!"

"Honey, don't say that, you--"

"Oh Alice, you're bleeding!"

Alice looked up at the sound of her mother's voice. Her sister came back through the wall just after her. Great, just what she needed now, to see Mestra in her new robes. Mestra smiled at her, kneeling down and absently brushing Alice's hair out of her face. "Are you ok?"

That was it. She was getting pity from strangers, concerned looks from her parents, but somehow sympathy from perfect Mestra was too much. "I'm fine!" she said, a little more firmly than she meant. She pulled a tissue from her coat pocket and crushed it against her forehead. "I just... fell. That's all. You should go. You'll miss the Express."

Her mother sighed and pushed her elder daughter back to the barrier. "She's right, dear. Go on. Your father and I will be right back to see you off." Alice peered past the tissue to watch her sister disappear. It looked so easy. "Now, you." Alice looked up at her mother skeptically. Mrs. Grey had kneeled beside her. "Tell me what happened."

"Gentle, darling, she's quite shaken up," said her father, as he patted her shoulder.

"What Tom? Well, of course she's shaken up. She's bleeding! Did you have an accident on the way here?"

"No."

"Did she fall?"

"No."

"Then what...?"

"I couldn't get through the barrier," Alice mumbled, unable to listen any longer.

"You couldn't...? Oh my. Well, that's something, isn't it, Tom? What should we do?"

"I don't know, Cass, but Mestra's waiting and-"

"Oh, go on!" Alice cried. "I promise not to disappear while you're in there."

"Alice, honey, your mother and I-"

"Dad, she's going to miss the train. You know she'll wait for you."

"Are you sure, sweetheart? We'll only be gone a minute..." her mother asked. Alice waved good-bye with her free hand. Her parents looked at one another for a moment and then walked through the barrier. 


	2. The Leaky Cauldron

Chapter 2  
Alice sighed and leaned back against the firm wall. The cement felt rough and cold, even through her jacket and blouse. So this was it then, the final proof. Her parents must be so disappointed. How could she face them when they came back? She pulled her knees up to her chest and dropped her head. "Ouch." She had forgotten about the new bump on her forehead, and the scrape on her knee. Lifting her head a little, she stared at the hole in her tights. She was bleeding again. Taking a deep breath, Alice bit her lip and watched her knee become hazy as tears filled her eyes. She might have stayed that way until her parents came back, hunched against the wall, watching the blood ooze slowly through the fabric. At that moment, however, someone spoke to her. "Are you alright?" Maybe if she ignored whoever it was, he would go away, besides, hadn't Mum always taught her not to talk to strangers? "Hello? I said, are you all right, there?" A drop fell on her knee and her vision cleared for a moment. She could the scab starting to form. "Look, I don't mean to bother you or anything, it's just that, you're sort of, well, in the way..." Alice almost smiled at the desperation in the youth's voice. She looked up, seeing the tall red- haired boy for the first time. "I'm s-sorry," she told him. "I'll just... umm... I'll go..." Where would she go? Did it matter? Alice straightened her skirt and stood up. The boy still fairly towered over her. She hastily wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and shuffled away from the barrier. "Er, thanks!" he called after her.  
"Who are you talking to, sweetheart?" Alice recognized the voice of the woman that had asked after her earlier. Glancing back she saw her making her way through the crowd with a trolley full of luggage. Perched on the top trunk was a cage like Mestra's with a small owl inside. A girl who looked just a bit younger than the boy - his sister, she assumed - followed their mother with another trolley.  
"No one, Mum, there was a kid sitting in front of the barrier..."  
"A little girl? With brown pig-tails?" asked the woman, looking around. Alice stepped behind a large man waiting on Platform Ten. "I saw her when I was looking for you... I think she was hurt."  
"Well, she got up, Mum, so she can't have been hurt badly." The boy took the trolley from his mother. "Ready Ginny? I'll race you!" His sister smiled and got into position behind her own cart.  
"Ron! I want no trouble this year! You behave yourself or you'll never graduate! You have a real chance to make prefect for next year... and look after you sister!" Alice heard both students laughing as they disappeared through the barrier. Great. They were a wizarding family, and the mother had seen her run into the barrier. She felt her cheeks growing redder and turned away in case the woman could see her glowing. The man she had hidden behind wandered off towards a candy machine and she suddenly felt very exposed. Mingling in with the crowd on the platform, Alice tried to form a plan. She wasn't ready to face her parents yet. She looked back and saw the woman follow her children to Platform 9 3/4. That was how her family should have been. Two magical children with magical parents, magically walking to the magical platform and magically leaving for a magical school. She knew that she was just feeling sorry for herself, but she couldn't help it. She didn't belong in her family any more than she belonged with the family with the red hair. Flattening her dark fringe over the bump on her head, Alice squared her shoulders and resolved to find out where she did belong. Muggle London seemed like a good place to start. She shoved her hands deep into her pockets and walked resolutely toward the sign that read "Way Out". She paused for a moment before stepping out into the sunlight. "Alice?" She heard her name called, faintly. Hundreds of people now stood between her and the barrier, a second impregnable wall. Her parents were back on the platform, looking for her. "Alice?!" Louder this time, they were getting closer. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the tunnel and onto the sidewalk. It was better this way. She couldn't embarrass them if she wasn't there. Maybe she could disappear after all. Once outside she started to run, her heart pounding in time with her feet. She ran until her legs were numb and she could no longer feel the sting in her knee. Until she was out of breath. She ran until she fell.  
"Look out!" She saw the boy at the last minute, but couldn't stop herself in time. She was on the ground again. "I told you to look out." The boy glared at her.  
"Well, well, you should have looked where you were going!" Alice yelled. "If you hadn't-"  
"Me? You're the one who-"  
"You jumped out in front of me!"  
"What were you doing running so-"  
"None of your business!" Having declared that undeniable proof of her rightness, Alice stood up and smoothed her skirt. The boy stared up at her from the pavement.  
"Who do you think you are?" he grumbled, rubbing his shoulder. Alice stuck her tongue out and started to walk past him. "Wait a minute!" he grabbed her leg, nearly pulling her down again.  
"Hey! Geroff me! Let go!" Alice shook her leg, but he the boy's grip on her ankle was too strong.  
"Aren't you going to say you're sorry?" The boy was smiling now. He was still sitting calmly on the pavement, her ankle in both hands, grinning up at her through his messy blond hair. Alice began to fume. What was this boy thinking?  
"Let go of my foot!"  
"Say you're sorry!"  
"Stop it!"

"Say you're sorry!"  
This was getting her nowhere. She stopped struggling and looked down at the boy. He was right. It wasn't his fault that she's run into him, or that she couldn't get to Platform 9 3/4, or that she couldn't turn the cat purple. She started to cry again. "Please, let me go," she asked softly. The boy dropped her foot. "I'm sorry I ran into you."  
"See, then? Not so hard, was it?" He stood up, wiping the dirt off his trousers.  
"Just leave me alone," she said, starting to walk away again. The boy followed her.  
"Hey, what's the matter with you? It didn't hurt that much." He matched her stride as she walked faster.  
"Leave me alone, I want to be-" she stopped. She'd come to the end of the street.  
"Look, I don't know what your problem is but-"  
"But it's not your problem, is it?" she shot back. She turned around and started walking back the way she'd come, looking for a different turn. The boy watched her go for a moment before running up beside her.  
"Hey, I'm Ben, what's your name?"  
"Alice."  
"Well, Alice, d'you think we could slow down a little? I mean I don't know about you, but I'm getting a bit winded."  
"Nobody... asked you.... to follow me..." Alice panted, speeding up. If she walked any faster she'd be running again.  
"Well, I guess that's right, but as we're just goin' round in circles I reckon I could stand in place and you'd still think I was following you." As if to prove his point, he stopped right where he was.  
Alice stopped too. He was right. Again. This boy was starting to get on her nerves. "What do you want?"  
"Nothing."  
"Then what-"  
"I was just-"  
"Why were you-"  
"Benjamin!" A tall woman stepped out of a pub across the street. "What are you doing over there? I told you to wait for me inside-"  
"I'm coming, Mum. I was just-"  
"Benjamin Kyle Brodie, so help me..." she shook her head and put her hands on her hips.  
"I'm coming!" He turned to Alice, "Look, do you want to come with me? Mum won't fuss as much if you're there," he paused for her answer. Alice shrugged her shoulders and glanced at the stern woman waiting across the street. Then she looked back at the boy and frowned, trying to decide what to do. "Thanks," he said. Without waiting for her answer, the boy grabbed her wrist and dragged her across the street. His mother was standing in the doorway of a tiny, grubby-looking pub, under a sign that read "The Leaky Cauldron".  
"And who's this, Benjamin?" his mother asked as soon as he was next to her.  
"This is Alice. She's lost and I'm helping her."  
"Are you now?" She seemed skeptical, but after a moment she turned to Alice and smiled kindly. "Hello then Alice, I am Mrs. Brodie. You've met my son Benjamin, I see, and aren't yet the worse for it." Here she shot her son another stern look. "You're lost, are you? Why don't you come inside then and we'll see about finding you."  
"Thank you ma'am." Alice allowed herself to be led inside and was soon seated comfortably in one of the pub's booths. Mrs. Brodie ordered the children a plate of chips and listened as they talked. Alice told them that she had been shopping with her parents and somehow gotten separated from them. It wasn't a lie, she figured. She had gone shopping, she had the bags to prove it - except that she'd left the bags on the platform. Still, she had definitely been separated from her parents. There had been a firm barrier between them. Besides, her mother had told her not to let on to Muggles about her wizard family. When they finished eating Ben's mother stood up.  
"Let me just speak to Tom and then we'll have a chat about finding your parents, alright, lass?" Ben's mother folded her coat on one of the benches and went up to the bar where Tom was setting a bowl in front of a large owl.  
"Whew, that was a close one!" Ben slumped down next to his mother's coat. Alice looked at him curiously across the table.  
"What are you talking about? Your mum is lovely!"  
Ben looked at her as though she had suddenly sprouted a third eye. "Are you mad? If you weren't here... well you'd think a howler exploded the way she yells." Alice giggled. She'd only seen one howler, when her father had done something that particularly annoyed his mother, but Mestra had told her about a friend at camp who tried to hide one. Apparently it had started to smoke and emitted a foul smell before finally combusting like a firecracker. It was hard to imagine anyone making so much noise, but remembering Mrs. Brodie's tone when she called her son, Alice admitted that if anyone could do it, she could.  
"Well, what did you do to make her so angry?" she asked.  
"You wouldn't understand." He became very interested in the napkin holder.  
Alice crossed her arms. "Fine. Don't tell me." She looked up as Mrs. Brodie nodded to Tom and turned away from the bar. "I'll just ask your mum."  
"You wouldn't!" His mother was coming to the table.  
"Mrs. Brodie!?" Alice called.  
"Shut it!" Ben was shaking now.  
"Mrs. Brodie, I- oww!" she cried out as Ben kicked her under the table. She glared at him. "You great prat! That hurt!"  
"Shhhh!" he was desperate.  
Ben's mother sat down beside him and looked inquisitively at her son's companion. "Well then, lass, you've been keeping secrets from us, it seems."  
"Me? I, no, I just-"  
"It's all right, hon, you're in good company. You've no cause to hide what you are from us. Particularly not in here." She waved at the pub's occupants. Looking around, Alice noticed some things about this pub that had seemed normal to her, but which she now realized should be strange to a non-magical girl. A boy at the table next to them was poking a rather large frog with a long stick. He muttered a few words and sparks flew out of the end of what she now recognized as a wand. A crowd of men near the back were all dressed in long robes of different colors, and one wore a tall pointed hat. In fact, several of the pub's customers wore similar hats and cloaks. This was a wizards' pub. She looked back at Mrs. Brodie, who was staring at her intently.  
"Now then, Miss Grey, how about the truth?" 


	3. The Story of Ben

Chapter 3  
Alice gasped. "How do you know my name?"  
Mrs. Brodie laughed. "Oh lass, you don't think you're the only wizard's child ever to get lost in London, do you?" She paused to give Ben another stern look. "Although I suppose you've done the right thing in not letting on who you were to strangers. A dangerous place for a young witch, Muggle London is. But this here is The Leaky Cauldron, and you'll never find a more welcoming place for our kind." She waved to Tom, who was watching from the bar. He smiled and went back to wiping some glasses dry.  
"But who told you who I was? I've never met him-" Alice nodded to Tom, "before. I've never even been to London before today."  
Ben was covering his surprise with sarcasm. "You're a witch?" He rolled his eyes and answered for his mother. "Well, Tom's had an owl, hasn't he? You don't think your parents would let you wander off without contacting the Ministry, do you? A witch lost in Muggle London, that's a matter of security. Just think of all the things that could go wrong!"  
"He's right, my dear. A little lost witch could cause all sorts of mischief - without meaning to, of course." Mrs. Brodie smiled as Alice stared at her hands, misreading the child's embarrassment. "Besides, your parents would be terribly worried, wouldn't they? And want to find you as soon as possible?" Alice looked up and started to protest, but Mrs. Brodie continued, "Now then, I've taken the liberty of replying with the Ministry's owl, and your parents should be here soon, but until they do you're to stay right here with Ben and me."  
"But I-"  
"No, no, dear. It's all settled." She paused. "I'm just glad Ben met you before someone else did. You really can't trust non-magical people."  
Ben slid down in his bench and became fascinated by his fingernails. Alice looked at him curiously before turning back to his mother. "Why not?" she asked, tentatively.  
"Never you mind, now, lass. Just you mind me and stay away from them. Lord knows, I tried to teach my children..." Mrs. Brodie trailed off and refocused her attention on her son. "Sit up, Benjamin."  
"Yes'm," he half-heartedly straightened a bit.  
"Benjamin, what have I told you about sitting like that? You'll ruin your posture."  
"Sorry, Mum."  
"Really, after all the times I've spoken to you... why can't you be more like-"  
"Like Michael, Mum?" he challenged.  
"Benjamin!"  
"Or did you mean like Brian?" His mother was shocked. "Or maybe you wish I was more like Moira!"  
"Now really, Benjamin, that is enough!"  
"Is it, Mum?" Alice thought his mother might explode. Apparently Ben was beginning to think so too. "Right, then, I reckon it is." He looked down again.  
"Benjamin, you apologize to Alice now. I'll not have you being so disrespectful, and in public too! What must she think of your family now? I thought that after last year you had learned better than to-"  
"It's all right, Mrs. Brodie," Alice interrupted.  
"It is most certainly not all right! You children have no respect. Always talking back, and never listening, and running away from the ones that care about you!" Alice flushed. Ben looked mortified. "Don't you think for one second about what we go through?" She looked from one child to the other. Alice began to understand what Ben had done last year, and why Mrs. Brodie was so emphatic about returning her to her parents.  
"I didn't run away, Mum," Ben said quietly to his folded hands. "I got lost."  
"We are not getting into this here Benjamin. In front of our guest." Mrs. Brodie began to compose herself, smoothing her sandy hair and adjusting her skirt. There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Ben concentrated on removing some dirt from his fingernail, while Alice watched the boy at the next table ignite his napkin, still trying to change his poor frog.  
"I'm sorry, Mum," Ben ventured after a few minutes.  
His mother sighed. "For what Benjamin?"  
"For whatever I did..."  
"Child, never apologize if you don't know what you've done wrong." She looked at her watch and then at Alice. "Your parents should have been here by now. I think I'll just have a word with Tom..." She left the table again.  
"So, then, that's what you meant when-"  
"Yeah."  
"Is she always like that?"  
"Usually."  
"But you didn't run away?"  
"No."  
Alice frowned and considered what she'd learned in the last few minutes, comparing the nice woman who'd bought her chips to the posture-obsessed mother who'd just left the table. "Why not?"  
"What?"  
"Why didn't you run away? I mean if she's always comparing you to your brothers..."  
"Well, she's not always like that. And besides, she's right. My brothers and sister are much better students. Michael's a fifth year at Hogwarts, a prefect this year, for Hufflepuff. And what's more, he doesn't even have the sense to get a big head about it." Ben shook his head in wonder. "I don't think Moira's doing as well in her classes, but she's this fantastic artist and plays all sorts of instruments. She's on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, too. Even Brian gets better marks than I do, and he's only eight."  
"I'm sure that you-"  
"Oh, stop it. I'm just telling you so you'll understand. My mum's not all that bad. She just gets real excited sometimes. And I don't help things. When I got lost last year it scared her something awful. I didn't mean to, but you know... I'd never been to Muggle London before. There was this older boy on a bicycle... you've seen those, right?" he paused to consider how to explain them. "Big metal things with wheels... anyway, he said he'd show me how to ride it while my mum was shopping with my sister... So while they were in the store I got on the boy's bike, but I kept falling off and my knees were getting all scraped. So I guess the last time I fell I wished for a soft landing, cause this big fluffy pillow appeared under me."  
"Wow! You conjured a pillow when you were nine?"  
Ben pulled himself up proudly, "Yeah, I'm good at that stuff... can't really control it though."  
"What did the boy do? I mean, he was a Muggle, wasn't he?"  
"Yeah, he was. He wanted me to do it again. I tried to explain that I couldn't... I hadn't really been taught that stuff yet, just what I picked up from Mike and Moira...but he didn't get it. He started yelling at me, trying to scare me into doing it, I guess."  
"Were you terribly frightened?"  
"Nah"  
Alice waited.  
"Well, ok, maybe a little. He was a lot bigger than me."  
"What did he do?"  
"Well, after a bit he left off yelling at me. I reckon he was afraid my mum might hear. He said he was sorry and he'd give me ride if I wanted. I could sit on the handlebars and that way he'd keep the bike from tipping."  
"And you went with him?" Alice asked, incredulously.  
"Well, yeah," Ben looked down sheepishly. "I just thought it'd be wicked, you know? Riding one of those? I don't even have my own broom..."  
Alice rolled her eyes. She would never understand boys' obsessions with broomsticks.  
"So, I said, 'Alright then, let's have a go at it,'" Ben continued. "Next thing I know I'm in his mum's apartment and she's asking me lots of questions about my family and our "special talents," and asking me if I ever met anyone from outer space."  
Alice laughed.  
"Yeah," Ben grinned, "a bit of a nut job that one. She kept throwing things at me to see if they'd turn into pillows or just hit me."  
"Did they?" Alice gasped.  
"Nah. I ducked."  
"Good idea," she giggled.  
"Yeah, but after a while it wasn't so much fun anymore."  
"How did you get out of there?"  
"Same way your mum and dad found you. My mum reported me to the Ministry as soon as she came out of the store and I wasn't there. Boy, was she ever sore when I got home. Mike told me she'd been imagining all sorts of horrible things. I guess she was pretty worried. That's why she gets so excited about kids wandering off and not paying attention around Muggles. Doesn't trust 'em."  
Alice wondered what Mrs. Brodie would think if she knew how close she really was to having a Muggle in The Leaky Cauldron. After all, a squib wasn't that much different, was it? She tried to work out how quickly Mrs. Brodie would catch her if she just took off like she had at the train station. "Ben, I have to... ummm... I've got to..." Eyeing Ben's mother warily, she scooted toward the edge of the bench. As if on cue, Mrs. Brodie turned away from the bar and started back to the table. "Alice," she called, "I don't know what's keeping-"  
"Mrs. Brodie, I have to... to go to the loo." By the end of her sentence she was off the bench and halfway to the door.  
"Alice? It's over there, honey."  
Alice ignored her and walked faster. She was almost to the door.  
"Oi, hang on!" Ben was following her again.  
As Alice reached for the door it seemed to swing open on its own. For a moment she thought her desire to leave had been strong enough... But the door didn't open on its own. Someone pushed it open from the outside. Two someones in fact. Two very angry someones who now stood directly in front of the ten year olds and glared down at them.  
"Mum! Dad!" 


	4. The Problem

Chapter 4  
While her parents spoke with Mrs. Brodie and thanked her for looking after their wayward daughter, Alice said good-bye to Ben.  
"I… err… don't reckon you'll be in London again soon, eh?" asked Ben, looking down.  
"I rather doubt it," she answered. "I rather doubt I'll be outside my house soon, or my room for that matter." She watched her parents nervously. She wished she knew what Ben's mother was telling them. She was in for it this time, for sure. She'd never seen her mother turn quite that shade of red, or heard her father speak so softly.  
"Well, then I… err… well…" Ben was mumbling something incoherent, but Alice wasn't listening anyway.  
"What is she telling them?" she asked the air over Ben's shoulder.  
He glanced back for a moment, realizing that she wasn't listening to him. "I… err… don't know. She's probably just saying how you're perfect next to me, and they should be lucky…" he paused, turning a little red.  
"Oh, no. They're coming over here. This is it," she looked at Ben for the first time in several minutes. "I'd better say good-bye now. There won't be much time-"  
"Alcestis! We're leaving. Come along." Her mother breezed past them after making her formal goodbyes to Mrs. Brodie at the bar. Reaching into a pot over the mantle, she threw a handful of floo powder into the flames, stepped into the fireplace and disappeared.  
"Yes, Alice, we should be going. If you're ready?" Her father paused at the hearth.  
Alice hung her head and went to him. "Yes, sir." Mr. Grey patted her shoulder and then followed her mother into the fire. Alice glanced back at the pub before doing the same.  
"Bye Alice!" she heard Ben call as she disappeared into the flames. Watching the Leaky Cauldron fade, Alice wondered if she'd ever see him again. Then she remembered the looks on her parents' faces when they found her and wondered if she'd ever see anyone again.  
One very tense hour later Alice sat hunched on her parents' couch watching her mother wear a hole in the carpet.  
"Cass, is that really necessary? You're making me dizzy." Alice's father had collapsed in his favorite arm chair as soon as he cleared the fireplace. Since then he had been watching her pace with a half-amused expression on his face.  
Mrs. Grey stopped and glared at her husband. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, dear. I am simply trying to understand what could have possessed your daughter-"  
"My daughter?"  
"Yes, darling. No one in my family has this… problem."  
"Now Cass, don't you think you're being just a bit-"  
"A bit what? Harsh? I suppose I'm meant to smile and apologize to the child and ask her what we ever did wrong to make her feel that she had to run away? Well, I'm sorry, Thomas, but I won't! We have done nothing wrong! We have been nothing but understanding and considerate of her feelings. What about my feelings? I told you years ago that there was something wrong-"  
"Cassandra!" He was sitting on the edge of the chair now. He caught his wife's hand as she made her thirty-seventh pass of the room. "Listen to yourself! Can you blame her?"  
Mrs. Grey looked at her daughter for the first time since leaving the pub. She sighed and kneeled beside the couch, taking her daughter's hands. "Alice, there is something we should-"  
"Cass, I don't think this is the time-"  
"When is the time Tom? On her eleventh birthday when she wonders why no letter arrives from Hogwarts? The day after that? A month later when she's given up hope of ever being accepted…" When he didn't have an answer, she turned back to her daughter and spoke in a softer tone. "Alice, there's something you should know."  
"I know, Mum." Alice's voice was almost lost.  
"You know, Alice?" her mother hedged. "What do you know?"  
Alice took a deep breath and looked her mother in the eye. "That I'm a squib." Out of the corner of her eye Alice saw her father make a startled motion towards her. "I've known for ages."  
"Then you must also know," her mother began. "You must also know that life will be somewhat... different for you than for your sister..."  
"Yes, Mum."  
"We will have to make some changes," she said, looking at Alice's father. She stood and recommenced pacing the room. "Accommodations must be made. Things must be looked to."  
"Cass, you're scaring her," murmured Mr. Grey.  
"We must- I- what? Oh dear." She paused by her husband's chair and looked down at him. "Perhaps it would be better if you... I mean to say that I'm not..."  
"Of course, dear. Perhaps you should place that call we talked about? Use the fireplace in our room."  
"Yes. Yes, I will," she glanced at her daughter. "Just now. Alice, darling, listen to your father. We've had a long talk and I think this is truly what's best- I've got to go." She hurried from the room. Soon Alice could almost make out her mother's low tones in the other room. That call must be terribly important. When she turned to her father he had pulled his chair closer to the couch. His face bore the most serious look she had seen in her young life. More serious than the purple cat fiasco, more serious than when she'd failed at the platform. More serious than when he'd found her at The Leaky Cauldron. And sad. "What's wrong, Daddy?" she asked. She thought she could hear her own heartbeat in the silence that followed. Her father seemed to move in slow motion as he raised one hand to brush her hair out of her face.  
"Ally, dearest." Alice saw tears in his eyes and wished she could say anything to make them go away. "Ally, your mother and I... we've been talking to the family about how best to deal with your... problem."  
"I'm sorry, Daddy."  
"It's not your fault." He almost smiled at her innocence. He shook his head. "But still, we cannot go on as if nothing was wrong. We must take action, as your mother says. We have spoken with the family, as I said, and the general consensus, the general agreement, is that you cannot stay here... cannot stay with us."  
"But where will I-"  
"Just listen, darling. Your mother is speaking with your Grandma Emily." As if to prove his point, Alice heard her mother's voice rise, "Now Emily, really! What else *could* we do? She's so miserable--"  
"But Grandma Emily-" Alice began. She knew that her grandmother was a Muggle, but the Kwikspell courses had made her passable as a witch. Alice had already tried those courses and found them of no use, so what could they possibly want from her grandmother now?  
"My mother is, as you know-"  
"A Muggle."  
"I was going to say an American," her father corrected, "but I suppose both are true. And both will be useful to us now."  
"I don't understand."  
"My mother's side of the family still live abroad. They are none of them witches or wizards. They will be able to give you what you need. You would be at a disadvantage growing up here, living here. Don't you see? This is you chance to lead a normal life. No one there will mock you for not having magic. They won't have the same expectations."  
"So I'm to move to America?" Alice asked, tentatively. She tried to hide her excitement, as her father still looked pained. She didn't want to hurt his feelings by seeming too eager to go, but it felt as though he were offering her an immense freedom. To leave St. Ives! To live among other nonmagical people and be accepted as a normal girl!  
"It may only be for a little while. Alice, you're not eleven yet. We don't know that you're... that you're..."  
"A squib, Dad. And I am. There's no magic in me. You don't have to be careful about it. I know what I am."  
"No, you don't. Have you been talking to Grandpa Jack? I told your mother-"  
"Dad, stop it. You can't blame Mum for how her family is."  
Her father smiled. "When did you get so smart? You sound practically all grown-up."  
Alice blushed.  
"Tom?" her mother called then. "Tom? Your mother wants to speak to you." Her father squeezed her arm and went into the other room.  
Alone again, Alice leaned back into the couch and closed her eyes. She tried to picture her new life in America. What were her Muggle relatives like? What... what... was that awful noise? Her eyes popped open and she muffled a squeal at the sight of a disembodied head in her fireplace. "Hello? Is anyone there?" asked the head.  
Shaking herself, Alice answered the call, "Hello? Who is it? My parents are on the other line..."  
"Oh dear, and I was looking forward to speaking with them." The head seemed to belong to a woman her parents' age, perhaps a bit younger. As Alice considered it, she noticed a resemblance to her father. The stranger had the same kind eyes. "You must be Alice," the woman was saying now. "I've heard so much about you from Aunt Emily. I can't wait to have you come to stay with us. I must admit that this-" she looked around the dusty fireplace, "is a little too odd for me."  
"I'm sorry... who are you?" Alice asked.  
"Oh! How rude of me! I'm Caroline Jenkins. Your father and I are cousins... Let's see, his mother - that's your Grandma Emily - and my mother, God rest her soul, were sisters. That made her your... great aunt, I guess. I'm so sorry you won't get to meet her, but of course you'll meet my husband and my children - we'll all be your cousins - and my brother and his son - a few more cousins for you. I'll bet you never knew you had such a big family!" Alice considered this. She was hardly an orphan. She had nine cousins on her mother's side. True, her father was an only child, but his father had had two older sisters, and she was fairly certain that neither had died childless. Caroline continued, "Mom and Aunt Emily have a younger brother too. My Uncle Jim still lives in Virginia, where they all grew up. That's how your parents found us. We haven't heard from Aunt Emily in years, and then out of the blue I get a call from Uncle Jim-"  
"My parent's called you?" The spontaneous mushrooming of her family tree was making Alice's head spin.  
"No, dear. Didn't I tell you? Your grandmother spoke to my uncle, the only one that still lives in Virginia. You see, my mother moved us all to Massachusetts when we were little... Anyway, Uncle Jim was trying to reach my older brother, but Mark's on vacation, so he called me," Caroline stopped to give Alice her most concerned expression. "And when I heard what you've been going through, well what else could I do, but offer you a place here with me?"  
"A place? With you?"  
"Yes, dear. Didn't your parents tell you? Oh my! Have I called to early? Maybe I should talk to your parents..."  
"Alice!" her father called from the other room. "Who are you talking to?"  
"Dad? There's someone in the fire..."  
"Is he coming?" asked Caroline. Before Alice could answer her father was sitting beside her on the couch.  
"Is that you, Carrie?" he asked, smiling. "So you've finally learned to use a fireplace!"  
Caroline blushed. At least, the fire that made her cheeks seemed to glow a bit brighter for a moment. "I wish I could take the credit, Tom, but as it is... I've had a little help."  
"Oh? Met some dashing young wizard and ditched Jenkins, have you? He was such an awful bore, good for you-"  
Caroline laughed. "Martin and I are quite happy, I'll have you know. Quite happy. And quite nearby." 


	5. The Solution

Chapter 5  
"What are you saying, Carrie?" asked Mr. Grey.  
"I'm in town!" Alice's aunt grinned. "I'm staying with your parents! I got in yesterday!"  
"Carrie, don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?"  
"I came for Alice, of course! You don't think I'd let your daughter get on a plane by herself, do you? Especially after all that's happened?"  
Alice looked at her father. If possible he looked more confused than she felt. She got in yesterday? Alice looked at the clock. 8:00pm. So it was definitely still the same day she'd gone to London to see Mestra off to school. How long had her parents been planning to send her away? "Dad?" she asked softly.  
"Carrie, I don't know what's going on here, but..."  
"Well, you *did* want her to come stay with me for a while, didn't you? Uncle Jim said-"  
"Uncle Jim called you?"  
"Yes. Didn't you know? He said that you and Cass had been talking to Aunt Emily about sending Alice over here. He said Emily wasn't sure how to reach us, so he offered to call and... Did I misunderstand him?"  
Mr. Grey shook his head. "No, no, this is something Cass and I have been considering for some time," he glanced at Alice, "but it wasn't until today that we made the decision..."  
"Then I have it right? I'm so glad. You know I've never been to England before. Everything's just so... British, isn't it?"  
Mr. Grey laughed uncomfortably. "I suppose so."  
"And I've had so much fun showing Beth and Jake their heritage. There's just so much more history here, you know? You never really think about it living in the States, but everything here is just so... old!"  
Alice giggled.  
"You what?!?!?" Alice heard her mother yell in the other room. Something crashed.  
Her father stood up quickly, "Er, I'd better go see what's happened. We'll get back to you, alright Carrie?"  
"Of course, Tom. It's been great talking to you, Alice! I can't wait to meet you in person!" There was a pop and Carrie's head disappeared. Alice and her father rushed to the other room where Mrs. Grey was pacing more energetically than before. The room was full of smoke. At first Alice thought her mother was actually fuming, but glancing at the fireplace she noticed what used to be one of her mother's pitchers among the sopping ashes. Her father rushed to his wife. Placing a hand on her arm, he stopped her and turned her towards him. "Cass! What happened?"  
"I can't believe she- the nerve of- what was she- how could she- what can we- I never-"  
"Cass..." he gently put his hand on the side of her face and tilted her chin up. "Honey, what's going on? What was that noise?"  
"Your mother!"  
"What?"  
"She- I didn't- this never should have-" Mrs. Grey pulled away and sank into a chair. "How did we get this far?"  
Alice stepped farther into the room and tripped over the tray her mother had used to carry the pitcher and glasses (which were now turning an interesting shade of brown in the hearth). "Alice? Honey could you leave your father and me alone for a moment? We need to talk."  
"But Mum-" she started to protest.  
"Alice."  
"Yes, Dad," she backed out of the room and closed the door, making sure to leave it open just enough for her to hear everything. For the next half an hour her father tried to get straight answers from her mother, with varying degrees of success. Piecing together the story, Alice discovered that Mrs. Grey, over the past few years, had been confiding in her parents about Alice's problem. Apparently Grandpa Jack was more embarrassed by his granddaughter's lack of skill than he let on to her. He and his wife had called Grandma Emily and told her that Alice's parents wanted to send her away "to broaden her horizons". "I never told them to call her!" her mother was yelling now. "This is going much too quickly. I wanted to break it to her myself and now- that was Caroline in the other room? Does she know? I won't have her sent away to be treated like a freak!"  
"Now Cassandra, you know my cousin won't do anything of the sort. Why, Alice would seem stranger to her if she could do magic..."  
"Then you really think that we should do this?"  
"That is why you came in here, isn't it? To call my mother about sending Alice to America? All that's changed is that that has been done for us. She will still be safer with them. There'll be less pressure, and who knows? Maybe she'll like it."  
"Maybe she'll hate it."  
"Maybe she won't. We can't know until we try. She'll only be teased if she stays here. She won't be able to go to school with her friends... the other kids love her now, but when they find out..."  
Alice thought her father was giving her too much credit. Most of her friends had already begun to look at her strangely. They were only a year away from starting at Hogwarts. Not to have shown any skill by now was unthinkable. Her best friend, Ashley Morgan, had kept her first magic a secret for a whole month. Even though they both knew something should be happening to them soon, Ashley had been scared. She had hidden it, feeling out of control, until her mother accidentally walked in on her levitating in the bathroom. Mrs. Morgan had thrown a family party. A week later Alice had told her friend that she had woken up floating above her bed. In actuality she had rolled off the bed during a bad dream, but she was too ashamed to admit her insecurity to Ashley. The other girl had congratulated her as if she had finally joined a sacred club. Lately though, even Ashley seemed to doubt Alice's skills. The other kids were talking behind her back. It was only a matter of time before Ashley realized that Alice had been lying to her. Then she would have no friends to go to school with anyway. Alice suddenly realized that her parents were probably making a decision right now that would affect the rest of her life. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her way back into the room.  
"Maybe she'll-" her mother began.  
"Maybe you should ask her what she wants," Alice interrupted.  
"Alice!" cried her mother, "I thought we asked to you to wait in the other room."  
"Don't you think I should have a say in this? It is *my* life after all."  
Her father looked at her seriously, "Perhaps you're right, Ally. What do you want to do?"  
Alice nodded and straightened her shoulders. "I want to go to Massachusetts."  
A week later, Alice was making her small bed in the room she now shared with her cousin Elizabeth. She had arrived in the States over the weekend and was about to start her first day at an American Muggle school. So far she really enjoyed living with nonmagical people. Her parents had told the Jenkinses that they wanted her to learn about a different culture first hand. They also told them that as the new head of the Department of Muggle Affairs, Mr. Grey would be helping Wizard/Muggle relations by starting an exchange program with his own daughter as an ambassador. Thinking back on the explanation her parents had given; Alice wondered what would happen if she actually told the Muggles here that she was a wizard's daughter. They probably wouldn't believe her - so much for Muggle/Wizard relations. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins hadn't told their children much about Alice's family. If Beth or Jake thought she was a little strange, they marked it down to her being British. Today she was going to join a fourth grade class in Beth's school. Beth, being a year older, was in the fifth grade, and Jake was a second-grader.  
"Alice, Beth?" called Caroline from downstairs. "Come, on, honey, you've got to eat a good breakfast before you leave."  
"We're coming, Mom!" Beth called from the hallway. She stuck her head back into her room on her way down from the bathroom. "Alice? Oh, leave that, we'll do it later. Come on, let's eat." Grabbing Alice's arm she dragged her away from the bed. They ran down the hall and scrambled down the stairs, skidding into the kitchen just as Caroline was putting bowls, cereal, and glasses of orange juice on the table, with a little help from Jake.  
"Whoa! Girls! Slow down!"  
"Sorry, Mom!" Beth giggled as she jumped into a chair.  
"Alice, did you sleep well?"  
"Yes, ma'am."  
"I thought we'd settled this ma'am thing, Alice? Call me Carrie."  
"Yes, ma'am... err Carrie."  
"Alright. We'll work on it. For now, eat up, or you'll miss the bus."  
Alice smiled and dumped some cereal into her bowl.  
"Mo-om! Jake kicked me!"  
"Did not!"  
"Did so!" Beth kicked Jake hard under the table.  
"Oww! Moooom!"  
Alice giggled as Carrie rolled her eyes. Turning from the counter where she was buttering toast, Mrs. Jenkins gave each of her children The Look. "Kids, behave."  
"But Mooooom!" Beth and Jake chimed.  
"Ok. That's it. Breakfast is over. Come on, up. If you're not going to eat, you may as well get to the bus stop, you're late as it is."  
"But Mom! I... we... Alice hasn't even finished yet!" Jake whined.  
"Well, then you'd better apologize to her, Jake, because she's got you to thank for it. Now up!" Alice jumped up and grabbed her backpack. Jake and Beth got up somewhat slower and shuffled toward the door.  
"Alice, come here for a second," Carrie asked. "You two, keep going; she'll catch up." Jake and Beth gave each other extremely angry looks and pushed each other out the door. "I'm sorry about that honey. You've got a little more time, if you'd like to finish your breakfast in peace."  
"I think I'd better go with them..."  
Carrie smiled. "Alright, if that's what you want. Here, take some toast with you." She handed her two slices in a napkin.  
"Thanks," Alice grinned as she rushed after Beth and Jake. Her cousins were waiting for her just outside the door.  
"What'd she want?" asked Jake.  
"It's none of your business, now go on, I want to talk to Alice." Beth shoved her brother ahead.  
"Cut it out! I'm going!"  
"Well, go then!"  
"I didn't want to hear your dumb old conversation anyways!"  
When Jake was a suitable distance ahead of them, Beth turned to Alice. "Sorry about him. He's so stupid, doesn't know when to quit, you know? You don't have a brother, do you?"  
"No, I've an older sister though."  
"You're lucky. A sister must be so much more fun than an annoying little brother."  
"He can't be that bad..."  
Beth looked at Alice as if she'd lost her mind. "You're kidding, right?"  
Alice was saved from answering by the arrival of a large orange vehicle. Six other kids were lined up by the side of the road, and Beth led Alice to the end of the line. Jake stuck his tongue out at them from his place four people ahead of them. Beth rolled her eyes. "That's the bus?" Alice asked.  
"Yeah... haven't you ever seen a school bus before? How did you get to school in England?"  
"I walked. We lived quite near the school." Alice looked at the bus curiously. It was much larger than anything she had seen in Muggle London. She was beginning to notice that lots of things were bigger here. Over the weekend Carrie had taken them shopping at a mall. They'd ridden in the Jenkins's SUV for twenty minutes to get to the long building with hundreds of stores and restaurants inside. Alice wasn't sure it had taken her that long to walk from Kings Cross to the Leaky Cauldron. Soon they were clambering up the stairs into the bus and looking for a free seat. Luckily Beth and Jake's stop was one of the first on the route, so Beth and Alice quickly found an empty bench near the back. "Only the dorks sit in the front," Beth explained as she led Alice to the very back.  



	6. The Muggle School

Chapter 6  
The ride to school was long and bumpy. Alice watched the kids crowd into the seats and hold on tight whenever the bus took a corner. "Hold on!" Beth grinned, at one point.  
"What?"  
Beth put both of Alice's hands on the seat in front of her just as the bus went over a particularly large bump. The kids in the back seat, one of whom had been sleeping, shrieked and then burst into a fit of laughter as they rose off their seats.  
"That's why we sit back here," Beth told her, still smiling. "It's almost like flying."  
Alice smiled back, wondering if the moment of weightlessness would the closest she'd get to flying. For a moment she envied Mestra, who would be learning to fly a broom this year. Then the bus lurched and she slid across the seat into Beth, who had to hold on to the seat in front of her and brace herself against the seat across the aisle with her feet. They both laughed as the bus straightened out and they were able to slide back into their seat. When they got to the school everyone stood up at the same time and pushed their way off the bus. Alice wondered why they were in such a big hurry.  
"Come on, Alice. We've got to got the office first and see where your class is."  
The girls fought their way through the crowd and up the front steps. In the big front office Beth stepped up to the high counter and spoke to the secretary.  
"Excuse, me? Miss Voigt?"  
A tall woman in a blue suit stood up from her desk behind the counter and came around to their side. "Hello, Beth. What can I do for you this morning?"  
Beth pushed Alice forward, "This is my cousin, Alice. She's from England."  
"Is she? My, you've come a long way, young lady. How do you like here in the colonies?" Miss Voigt laughed at her own joke. Alice looked at Beth, wondering if she should take this woman seriously. Beth rolled her eyes and tried to hide a smile.  
"I'm having a lovely time, thank you, ma'am," Alice told the woman.  
"Oh good, I'm so glad."  
"Miss Voigt?" Beth asked. "It's Alice's first day, she's supposed to meet her guidance councilor?"  
"Oh! Yes, of course. Let me just look you up," Miss Voigt hurried back to her desk and began pressing a series of buttons in a boxy machine. "You can go ahead to class, Beth. You don't want to be late. I'll help Alice from here."  
Alice panicked for a moment at the thought of losing her guide, but Beth just grinned at her. "I'll see you at lunch!" she said before heading out the door and down the hall.  
"Ah, here you are," Miss Voigt spoke to her computer as Alice watched Beth through the office window. "You belong to Mrs. Marchon. I'll take to her office straight away." Miss Voigt beckoned Alice behind the counter and led her through a door to a string of offices. The secretary knocked on the third door. While they waited for Miss Marchon to answer, Alice read some of the comic strips that were taped on the door.   
"Come in!"  
"Mrs. Marchon? This is Alice Grey, our new student from England." Miss Voigt let Alice into the room.  
"Thank you, Donna," Mrs. Marchon waved to Miss Voigt, who smiled at Alice before returning to her desk in the outer office. The councilor was an older woman, her hair completely gray, but there was something in her face that suggested the energy of someone much younger.  
"Hello, Alice. Have a seat. I am Mrs. Marchon," she gestured to a chair in front of her desk. "How are you this morning?"  
"I'm fine."   
"Well, first off, I'd like to welcome you to the States, and to our school."  
"Thank you."  
"Now, I don't know much about where you went to school before you came here, there seems to be some problem with the paperwork... So until we find out more, we've placed you in Mrs. Lionne's class. I'm sure that you'll like her. I'll be taking you down to her class in a moment. But first, I want you to remember that I'm here for you. If you have any questions..."  
"I'll be certain to come to you."  
"Good. Well, then, let's get you to class, shall we?" Mrs. Marchon stood up and, closing Alice's folder, added it to a pile on her cabinet. "Right this way." She led Alice back through the narrow hall to the outer office with its large plate glass windows. From there they went through to the large main hall, down several corridors and around the corner to Mrs. Lionne's fourth grade classroom. Mrs. Marchon knocked on the door as she went through it. A short woman standing in front of a blackboard turned and paused in the middle of her lesson.  
"Mrs. Lionne, this is Alice Grey, your new student."  
"Oh, good! I wondered when we'd get to meet her." Mrs. Marchon and Mrs. Lionne stepped aside for a moment to talk about Mrs. Lionne's new addition.  
After what seemed like ages for Alice, standing in front of the class, Mrs. Marchon said good-bye and returned to her office. Pulling Alice in front of her, Mrs. Lionne addressed her class. "Class, this is Alice Grey, she'll be joining our class for the rest of the year. I want you all to make her feel welcome. Miss Grey, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?" Mrs. Lionne sat on the edge of her desk and gestured for Alice to take her place in front of the class.  
"Well, I, err... My name is Alice Grey..."  
The class laughed. Alice frowned and stared at the floor. "Err... I'm from England. I used to live in St. Ives..." she looked at Mrs. Lionne to see if she'd said enough. The teacher wasn't looking at her though. She was watching two boys in the back of the room. Alice couldn't tell what they were up to, but it was clearly no good.  
"Timothy Wilson and William Zeigert! You will kindly focus your attention at the front of the room." The smaller boy, Billy, Alice thought, shoved something under his desk before both boys snapped their heads back to the front. Folding their hands on the desks in front of them, both boys looked at their teacher innocently. "Yes, Mrs. Lionne," they chorused.  
"Go on, Alice," the teacher prodded when she had the class's full attention. "Tell us something about yourself. What do you do for fun?"  
"She eats crumpets!" called Tim in a false British accent. The class giggled.

"She plays croquet!" called Billy. 

"Would you like a spot of tea?" Tim mimed pouring his friend a cup.

"Why, yes, old chap, That'd be-"  
"Enough," sighed Mrs. Lionne. "Why don't you take that desk in the second row?" Mrs. Lionne pointed Alice to an empty seat. Relieved not to be the center of attention anymore, Alice stepped quickly to her desk - little too quickly, as it turned out. She tripped over someone's backpack and landed on the floor.  
"Are you ok?" asked a pale girl with dark hair and huge glasses. She had been sitting in the seat across the aisle from Alice's, but now she was kneeling on the floor with her.  
"I think so. Yes. I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. Happens all the time." Alice struggled to her feet, stumbling a little as she untangled her leg from the backpack. Mrs. Lionne had completely lost control of her class. What had started as snickers and giggles had broken down into several conversations across the room. While the teacher tried to quiet them down, the other girl helped Alice pick up the books that had fallen out of her bag.  
"Don't listen to them; they're all a bunch of jerks."  
"Err... thanks." She finally got everything back in her bag and climbed into her chair.  
"Sorry about my backpack..." whispered the girl sitting in front of the pale girl.  
"Shhh!"  
"Oh, "shhh!" yourself," said the girl with the backpack. Alice turned around to see where the sound had come from. A skinny girl with red braids glared at her.  
"Really, Lauren, it's none of your business anyway," whispered the girl who had helped Alice.  
"Shhh!" whispered Lauren again.  
"Geez! What is wrong with you? Do you have a leak?" asked the girl with the backpack.  
Lauren glared at the other girls. "You're going to get us all in trouble. You've already interrupted Mrs. Lionne's class."  
The brunette raised her eyebrow, causing her big glasses to tilt a little. "It was an accident, and besides, look around! Mrs. Lionne isn't even looking over here."  
"Jaime Martin!" Mrs. Lionne had quieted the other half of the class and returned to where the noise had begun.  
"Yes, Mrs. Lionne?" Jaime straightened her glasses and turned back to the front.  
"If you and Miss Gayle have finished your conversation-" Lauren blushed. "I'd like to return to today's lesson."  
"Yes, Mrs. Lionne," the Jaime responded quietly.  
"Mrs. Lionne?" the girl in front of Jaime raised her hand.  
"Yes, Miss March, do you have something to add?"  
"Yes, ma'am. It was my fault. I mean, Alice tripped over my bag and then Jaime was only defending me to Lauren and-"  
"That's fine, Kelly. I don't care whose fault it is, I just want to move on now, ok?" Mrs. Lionne smiled at the girls.  
"Yes, ma'am." Kelly pulled her backpack safely under her desk, on the off chance that anyone else might walk by.  
Now that she had her class's full attention again, Mrs. Lionne asked them to take out their big Language Arts books, which each student kept in his or her own desk. She gave them a list of spelling words to work on for the next week and had them take turns reading aloud from the book. Alice loved the story, which was about a girl their age crossing the United States in a covered wagon. She couldn't wait until the next day, when they would read another chapter. After their Reading lesson, Mrs. Lionne led them to the cafeteria for lunch. Alice looked for Beth in the big white lunchroom, but couldn't see her cousin anywhere.  
"Alice? Do you want to sit with us?"  
Alice looked around and saw Jaime sitting with Kelly. She smiled and put her lunch bag down. "I was supposed to sit with my cousin, but I don't see her-"  
"Who's your cousin?" asked Kelly. "Maybe we know her?"  
"Beth Jenkins. She's in the fifth grade."  
"Never heard of her. Sorry."  
"Does she have a little brother?" asked Jaime. "A second-grader?"  
"Yes, Jake. I don't think they get on well, though."  
"I definitely know him. He's friends with my brother. Jeff's eight too. I don't really know Beth though. Sorry," Jaime said, in between bites of her sandwich.  
"Well, I suppose I'll see her later." Alice emptied the bag Mrs. Jenkins had packed her - a sandwich, an apple, a juice box, a little bag of crisps, and two cookies. Jaime's lunch looked pretty much the same, although the jam her sandwich was a different color. Kelly had a green plastic tray with something fried, a chocolate milk, some chips and a cupcake.  
Jaime followed Alice's eyes to Kelly's strange meal. "What *are* they serving today, Kel?"  
Kelly prodded her meal. "I'm not sure... Salisbury steak, I think." Her examinations had not made her more comfortable with the food. "Maybe I'll just eat the fries."  



	7. The Game

Chapter 7  
After lunch the girls went back to their classroom and tried to pay attention to Mrs. Lionne's arithmetic lesson. Luckily the lesson didn't last long, and soon they were outside for recess. Alice enjoyed playing football, and was pleased to see that the kids at her new school liked it too. They called it something different, though - soccer, she thought one of the boys said. As soon as they got outside Kelly ran over to a huge net bag and pulled out the soccer ball. "Come on, Alice! Let's play!"  
Alice started to follow, but stopped when she noticed Jaime hanging back. The other girl looked toward the playground equipment and waved good-bye.  
"Oh, come on! She never plays. We'll see her later... come on!"  
Jaime waved her on, so Alice shrugged and ran to catch up with Kelly, who was already organizing a team. When Alice was within hearing distance, Kelly quickly introduced the team, "ThisisAmyMattKevinJennyandChristy." She threw the ball down and raced after it to the middle of the field, where Alice recognized Billy and Tim with some other boys. Kevin followed her immediately. Alice only heard part of Kelly's argument with the boys over whose field it was, but she got the impression from the other girls' expressions that the fight was a regular occurrence. Amy and Matt were rolling their eyes, but they quickly caught up with Kelly and Kevin and were soon gesticulating angrily beside them. Jenny and Christy were walking a little more slowly, as if they knew the game wasn't going to start for a while. 

"Do we have to do this every time?" Jenny asked Christy. "It's not like we won't all fit on the field."

"Tell that to Billy and Tim," answered Christy.

"What is their deal?" Jenny asked. "I think they like the fighting part more than the playing."

"You think?"

"What's going on?" Alice finally asked.

Jenny grinned and answered first, "Oh, every day we come out and we run to the field, but somehow Billy and Tim and those guys always get there first. It's getting a little old, actually. I don't know why we don't just play on the blacktop."

"Because *they're* on the blacktop." Christy scowled at the third graders jumping rope and playing tag on the asphalt.

Alice glanced at the wild crowd and understood the problem of organizing a game there. "But what's wrong with the field? The guys want it to themselves?"

"Not *all* the guys," said Jenny.

Christy whispered, "Jenny likes Kevin," a little too loudly to Alice.

"I do not!" Jenny exclaimed, smacking Christy's arm. "I was just saying that some of the guys, Matt and Kevin, for example, think that Billy and Tim are pretty stupid. They just like to cause trouble, and then we spend half of recess fighting about whether or not we're going to play."

"It's no fun if they don't play, and they know it," Christy added. "We'd have to play three on three, and Amy only likes to play keeper, so then somebody else has to be a keeper, and then there are only four people actually playing…"

"Keeping is playing!" Jenny argued half-heartedly, her eyes on the field.

Christy rolled her eyes, "Jenny's usually the other keeper. Anyways, if Billy and Tim play, then we can get Matt and Mark to play…"

"I thought Matt was playing already?" Alice pointed to the boy with Amy.

"Oh, no, the other Matt," Christy pointed to a much larger boy standing with Billy and Tim. "Matt P. See? Our Matt is Matt G."

"The one next to Kevin," Jenny helped.

"It's a little confusing at first," said Christy sympathetically. "There are three Matts and two Megans and two Jennys…"

"The other Jenni is different though! She spells her name with an "i"!"

"Yes, Jenny, you're very unique. Anyways, the Megans are best friends, so you won't have any trouble there. There are a lot of Chrises too… if you don't know a guy's name, your best bet is to go with Chris or Matt…"

Alice shook her head to clear it. "So you want to play six on six, but you can only do that if Billy and Tim and Mark and the other Matt play, and Mark and the other Matt only play if Billy and Tim do, so every day you come out and have the same argument about whether or not you're actually going to play?"

"Yeah," answered Jenny, still watching Kevin argue. The girls were lost for a moment watching Kevin and Kelly pointing up and down the field. Alice wondered what Tim was saying when Amy jumped on him. She almost voiced her concern, but they were spared from a more interesting fight when Matt G. pulled her back. 

Christy turned from the field of battle after a minute. "It sounds kind of silly when you say it though." She glanced briefly at the soccer field, where things were turning ugly. "You know what? Let's not play today. C'mon Jenny." 

"What? Oh, right… let's… let's not," murmured Jenny, allowing herself to be dragged away.

Alice stood for a moment, torn between the excitement of the field, and her curiosity about Christy's new plan. Not really having a violent nature, she joined the retreat. 

Alice, Christy and Jenny found Jaime in a sheltered corner of the playground equipment. She'd brought a book out with her and didn't notice them until they'd climbed into the shelter with her.

"Oh! Hi guys. Is the game over?" She carefully pulled a ripped piece of note paper from the back of the book and marked her place.

"It is for us," answered Christy. "How's the book?"

"Oh… it's really good. It's about this young girl in the eighteenth century who's on this huge ship to America from England when-"

"Was that Kevin?" Jenny asked.

"Was what Kevin?" asked Christy.

"That yell… I thought I heard-"

"You know, Jenny, I think maybe it was. Why don't you guys go check it out?" Jaime suggested.

"Nah. They're just fighting again," responded Christy.

"But if someone's hurt-" Alice began.

Jenny looked at Alice quickly. "You think he's hurt?!?"

"I don't know, I-"

"Maybe we should go-"

"Jenny, I'm sure he's fine," said Christy. 

"You guys can go… I mean, you don't have to stay here," offered Jaime.

"I really think-" started Jenny, peering out of their hiding place.

"Fine!" said Christy. "Just go! We'll catch up."

"You will?" asked Jenny, skeptically.

"Yes," Alice said, "We'll be right there."

"Ok, then. I just think, I, well… I'll be right back!"

Jenny climbed out and disappeared. Christy rolled her eyes, "You'd think she was his mother."

"I think I did hear something," Jaime said.

"Yeah. You heard Jenny's Kevin Radar go off. She can't stand to be on the same playground with him and not see him."

The girls giggled. "D'you reckon we should go after her?" asked Alice. "I mean I did say that we'd-" She was interrupted by Mrs. Lionne's call for the class to line up. "I suppose we'll catch up later…" They scrambled away from the playground and raced up to the teacher. From her new vantage point at the top of the school yard Alice watched the soccer players, still arguing, straggle back from the field. Christy pointed out Jenny, who was "helping" Kevin gather up the balls the other kids had been using. When Kelly and Tim came within hearing distance Alice realized that they had managed to play a little after all.

"How can you say that?!" Kelly was yelling. "You were so far out of bounds I'm surprised you could see the goal!"

"I was not!" was Tim's brilliant response.

"You're just mad because you know we're going all-state this year, and you'll never make it!" shouted Billy from behind her.

"They're letting midgets in the all-state team this year?" Matt G. asked Amy loudly.

"You'll never be there to see, will you Matt? Even if some miracle happened and you got in, you'd never go. Wouldn't want to leave you girlfriend behind." snarled Billy.

"I'm not anyone's girlfriend," mumbled Amy, stepping a little away from Matt. "And I *am* going all-state," she said a bit louder.

"Looks like Tim's the only one dragging his girlfriend to the competition," Kelly told Billy pointedly.

Luckily Mrs. Lionne hushed the class and began leading them back inside before Billy could overcome his outrage enough to think of a good come-back. After recess they had a resource class. Jaime explained that they used this period differently everyday. "Mondays we have music, Tuesdays we have art, Wednesdays we have P.E., Thursdays we go to the library-"

"That's Jaime's favorite," Kelly whispered. Jaime blushed and clutched the book she'd taken to recess to her chest.

"Shh!" hissed Lauren, who was behind Alice in line. "We're not supposed to talk in the halls!"

"Miss Gayle, I thought we talked about that noise," Mrs. Lionne called over her shoulder before she turned the corner to the music room. Alice, Kelly and Jaime shrugged at Lauren's glare and filed quietly into the classroom. Mrs. Treble, the music teacher, was a dumpy older woman barely a head taller than her fourth-graders. She had a peculiar fondness for little wooden percussion instruments and hard candies. She shared both with her students if they were well-behaved. Most of the class went on their best behavior when it was time for their music lesson. Even Billy Zeigert listened to Mrs. Treble; probably because she always complimented his singing voice. 

Mrs. Lionne came back for them at the end of the music lesson and led them all back to her classroom for their last lesson, American History. Jaime, who considered history another long story, answered several of Mrs. Lionne's questions easily. Alice tried to make herself small to avoid being called on since she didn't know much about American History. Mrs. Lionne seemed to understand and relied on Jaime and a few other students for answers. As the lesson was ending Mrs. Lionne wrote their homework on the blackboard. The bell rang as Alice scribbled down the last page numbers. "Bye Alice!" called Jaime and Kelly, lifting their large backpacks and heading for the door. Alice panicked for a moment, but relaxed when she saw Beth waving from the doorway. She hurried out after the other students and joined her cousin. "Hi!" Beth greeted her.

"Hi!" smiled Alice.

"Come on!" called a little boy as he blew past them on his way out of the building.

"Jake! Slow down!" Beth yelled after him. "Or not. So? How did you like it?"

"It was… interesting," Alice answered. "What do we do now?"

"Now we get on the bus!" Beth grinned. 


	8. The Witch

Chapter 8: The Witch

A/N Now the fun begins… This chapter is a bit longer, but we're getting to the real story and I couldn't stop…

When they'd fought their way to the back of the bus Beth explained that since both her parents worked, the three of them would get off at a different bus stop and stay with one of the neighbors until Carrie came home. Alice enjoyed her second bus ride far more than her first, having a slightly better idea of how to keep her seat. By the end of the week she could sense the larger bumps and turns in the road in enough time to decide whether to brace herself or attempt flight. There was one particularly large bump that almost caused the whole bus to lift off the ground if they could convince the driver to go fast enough. 

By the time that Friday came, Alice was eager for the weekend break and charged off the bus with Beth and Jake the moment it stopped on their street. The three of them raced to the baby-sitter's house, called hello to Mrs. Rice as they passed through the kitchen, and barreled through to the back yard. The kids usually spent all of their time in the yard until Carrie came by to pick them up after work. Mrs. Rice was nice enough, Alice supposed, but seemed a bit odd. She looked much younger than most of the adults that Alice knew, but her voice rasped as if she were perpetually fighting a cold. She wore similar clothes to Mrs. Treble, flowing skirts and baggy blouses. In fact she seemed no taller than the music teacher, but she was much thinner, almost getting lost in the fabric when she knelt down. She seemed to spend most of her time in her kitchen, surrounded by colorful plants. They were never allowed to see what she was cooking, but there was always a large pot on the metal counter top. The "stove," Alice remembered. Muggles used those odd hot metal rings to do their cooking. She'd narrowly missed a nasty burn at Carrie's once, leaning over the stove to reach the pepper Carrie wanted. Mrs. Rice's cooking had a much stronger smell than anything Carrie ever made though, and not always a good smell. Neither Beth, nor Jake, had any ideas about what she was making either, but told Alice they tried to stay out of her way. There were vague rumors about her at school. No one explained why, but everyone kept away from her. Alice assumed that it had something to do with the absent Mr. Rice, about whom the other kids where equally quiet. She could have accepted the idea that she'd never really know what Mrs. Rice was doing, if not for something she saw on their second day there, and again every day afterwards. Mrs. Rice's back yard was rather small, and fenced in, but it held the best climbing trees Alice had ever come across. Although someone had thoughtfully hung a tire swing from one of the trees, the children ignored it in favor of exploring the branches. From her perch that second afternoon, Alice could see directly into one of the upstairs windows. The room was dark and at first all she saw was her own reflection. Alice giggled and made a face. "Come on!" she called down to Beth, who was struggling to join her.

"I am…. just a minute… there's an… owww!"

"Are you alright?" Alice looked down anxiously.

"I'm… fine. I'm fine," Beth laughed. "Hit my head on this branch. Hold on… be up in a sec…"

"Well hurry! I've had nearly enough of this one. If you don't get here soon, I'll pass you on the way back down!"

"Ohhhh… chill! I'm coming! Isn't there anything interesting up there?"

Alice smiled at her reflection again. "Just me." She watched Beth's progress for a bit. She loved being better than her cousin at something. It almost made up for following her around so much to keep from getting lost. She glanced back up the window, pulling a face. Pale eyes stared back at her.

"Oh!" Alice nearly lost her balance in her surprise.

"What's going on? You nearly kicked me!" Beth cried from just below her.

"There's someone there!"

"Where?" Beth eased herself onto the branch beside Alice.

"Right… there. Well, she was there. Just a moment ago. I thought I saw…" There was no one there now.

Beth looked at Alice quizzically, "You saw someone?"

"Yes, err, I thought I did. At that window, there were eyes."

"I only see our eyes," Beth stared at the dark window, squinting to make out what Alice had seen.

Alice stared too, but then laughed at Beth's reflection. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for your mysterious eyes!" Beth responded indignantly.

"Well, they're gone now."

"I see that."

Alice couldn't help sneaking glances up at that window each afternoon. She saw the eyes every day, but by the time she had either Beth's or Jake's attention, the window had gone blank again. Friday she resolved not to tell them if she saw it again. They were starting to look at her the way they looked at Mrs. Rice. She glanced up surreptitiously for the fourth time that afternoon. Still empty. She needed to stop looking. Today Beth and Jake were teaching her to play Freeze Tag, which seemed similar to the game of Statues that she'd occasionally placed at home. Jake was getting a little annoyed by how easy it was to catch her. 

"Alice! You aren't supposed to freeze until I tag you!" he yelled in exasperation.

"Whateroo ookinat?" Beth asked, trying not to move her lips. She'd been tagged by Jake a moment before and wasn't allowed to move unless Alice tagged her and "unfroze" her.

"What?" asked Alice, shaking herself out of her reverie. "Nothing. I'm not looking at anything." She dodged Jake at the last minute. She sprinted across the yard to rescue Beth. She succeeded, but slipped on a wet leaf, fell and was tagged as Beth escaped. It was probably the most comfortable position to be frozen in, she reckoned. At least she didn't have to worry about holding her foot up in mid-dash. She watched Jake chase Beth three times around the same tree. Finally Beth called a time out and bent over, catching her breath. "Is-is it raining?" she panted.

Jake held out his hands, "Ummmm nope. Wait… yes I think that was a drop."

"We should… should probably go in then," Beth suggested.

"You just want to quit because I'm winning!" Jake argued.

"You are not!"

"Am too!"

Alice recognized the beginning of another epic sibling battle. The sky was growing darker and she definitely felt a drop on her shoulder. "Err, guys?" she tried to interrupt.

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Am too times a hundred!"

"Guys? I'm getting a little wet here…"

"What?"

"What?"

Alice grinned. "I said I'm getting a bit wet here. You reckon we could pick this up later?"

"Yeah, ok," agreed Beth.

"Beat you inside!" challenged Jake. He took off for the door.

"Not if I get there first!" called Beth, charging after him.

Alice smiled and joined the race, making it to the back door just ahead of Beth.

"Ha!" Jake cheered from the threshold, his hands gripping either side of the doorway. "Beat you both!" 

"Great, Jake. Now get out of the way," grumbled Beth through gritted teeth.

"What's the password?"

"What?"

Jake grinned from his position in the dry doorway. "Tell me the password and you can come in."

"Please, Jake?" Alice tried.

"Nope, not it!" Jake slammed the door shut and grinned again, safe behind the window.

Beth hammered on the door with her fists. "Let us in, jerk!"

He stuck out his tongue.

"Jake, come on. Open up, it's starting to rain harder," Alice pleaded.

Jake seemed to consider it for a moment, then grinned cheekily and shook his head. Alice sighed and stepped back from the door, looking for another entrance. She backed under an overhanging tree branch as the drizzle became a downpour. Beth pressed herself into the doorway, still banging on the door and yelling at her brother through the window. There was a crash beside Alice and she jumped. A large branch had barely missed her. She peered up through the tree and caught a flash of white at the upstairs window. 

"Alice!" Beth called. Somehow she'd convinced her brother to let her in, and she was waving from the open doorway. With a last glance at the window, Alice shook herself and ran inside. She and Beth shook out their hair and brushed the droplets from their arms and faces.

"Where did Jake go?" Alice asked, ringing out the bottom of her shirt at the sink.

Beth's eyebrows lowered. "Hiding. Nevermind, I'll get him later."

"Girls! What's happened to you?" Mrs. Rice stopped short in the kitchen's entrance.

"We're fine, Mrs. Rice," Beth answered quickly.

"You are not fine! Wait right here!" she disappeared.

"Where did she go?" asked Alice.

"Let's not wait to find out," Beth said. She grabbed Alice's sleeve and started to pull her through the doorway Mrs. Rice had come in through. Unfortunately, Mrs. Rice chose that moment for her return. The wet girls ran into her and nearly knocked her down. 

"Whoa, girls! What's the rush? Here, take these towels and go straight upstairs to the bathroom and dry off. Lyness is in her room. Ask her to lend you something dry to wear." 

"Thank you Mrs. Rice," whispered Alice, wrapping a large green towel around herself. Beth grabbed her hand and dragged her up the stairs. 

"What are you talking to her for?" she hissed.

"She was… she… well… err… don't you think that was nice of her, getting us towels?"

"Yes, but why?"

"Why?"

Beth whirled on her at the top of the stairs. "Why did she do that for us?"

"Because we were cold and wet?"

"What does she care? She isn't cold!"

Alice raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"She's just… weird."

"Maybe she didn't want us dripping all over her floor."

"You don't think she's creepy? You don't think this… whole place is creepy?"

A door slammed shut down the hall. "What was that?" Alice asked.

"See?" implored Beth, her eyes shining, "Creepy!"

"It must be Lyness. She told us someone was up here, remember? Said we should get her to lend us something to wear."

"Well, I'm not going down there. Who knows what she keeps in there?" Beth turned and marched into the bathroom. "Coming?"

"Don't you think we should go talk to her?"

"No!"

"What good is going to do us to dry off if we're meant to put our wet clothes back on?" Alice argued.

"Then you go, but I do not want to meet creepy Mrs. Rice's creepy daughter." Beth crossed her arms. Her mouth and her mind were set. Alice had to accept that her cousin was not going to change she mind.

"Oy! Fine then. Stay here if you're frightened. I'll go down, meet Lyness, and get us something to wear." She headed down the dark hallway.

"Nothing pink!" Beth called.

Alice rolled her eyes. There was nothing to be scared of here. It was just a hallway, with bad lights, a weird smell, and was that smoke? She hurried down to the door that had slammed shut. "Hello? Hello, is anyone there? Are you alright?" She knocked quietly. The door seemed warm and that was definitely smoke curling out from underneath. "Hello?" she called, a bit louder. "There's smoke out here… is something burning?" The door opened for a split second and someone pulled Alice inside. She was assaulted by incense. As her eyes adjusted she made out a small table beside the door where the smoke was floating off of several incense sticks. Lyness's bedroom was small and crowded with dark wooden furniture. The walls were draped with cloth hangings, each with a different pattern or image - mostly Celtic symbols. The bed covers and hangings were all in dark earthy tones, hues of green and brown and deep red. In one corner sat a large wooden chest, partly draped in green fabric and covered with small wooden figures, flowers, and a curved silver knife. The room's owner kneeled by the trunk. She seemed a few years older than Alice, maybe thirteen. Her long dark hair curled loosely down her back, blending with her brown skirt. She was dressed similarly to her mother, in a skirt that pooled around her and an embroidered blouse. She looked up at Alice with enormous brown eyes. Alice took a deep breath and immediately regretted it. 

"Lock the door."

Choking on the smoke and rubbing her eyes, Alice did as she was asked. She took a step towards the other girl.

"Lyness?"

The other girl nodded and signaled for Alice to sit down beside her. When Alice had taken her seat next to her, the older girl gently took her hand and held it tightly. She stared intently into Alice's eyes. Breaking their connection for the briefest moment, she glanced at the door, saw that the lock was turned, and nodded again.

"I'll tell you a secret," whispered Lyness. "But you can't tell anyone. Do you swear?"

"I swear," Alice breathed. 

"Alright," said Lyness. She checked the door one last time and faced Alice with a dreadfully serious expression. "Remember, you can't tell anyone. Not even Beth."

"I won't! What is it?"

The older girl smiled. "I'm a witch."


	9. The Package

Chapter 9

A/N: I apologize in advance for anything that seems insulting. I mean no disrespect to practicing Wiccans, or any other religion. "Lyness" is largely based on a girl I knew in high school, who claimed to be Wiccan, but who was later discovered to be a Big Fat Liar.

"A what?" asked Alice in surprise.

"A witch," said Lyness, "a real one. Do you believe in magick?"

Alice didn't know what to say. The girl seemed so lonely. What would happen if she told her that she knew witches were real? That her father was a wizard, that her mother was a witch, and that they both worked for the Ministry of Magic? The girl would think that she was a witch too - or that she'd gone mad. Either way she'd be humiliated again. "I… I don't know," she finally answered.

Lyness nodded as if she had expected this response. When she spoke it didn't seem to matter that Alice was in the room. It was as if she were reciting lines for an invisible audience. "The magick is all around you. It is in the air we breathe, the earth we walk upon and the water we drink." She lifted a large silver basin from the floor beside her and placed it on the trunk next to a large candle in a porcelain dish. Alice could see her reflection dimly in the water. Lyness took a plastic cigarette lighter from a pouch looped around her waist and lit the candle. "It is also in fire." In the new light Alice could see Lyness more clearly. The witch had pulled back some of her hair with a leather tie. Her eyes seemed to glow with their own radiance. They were deep brown and lined thickly with dark make-up, making them stand out brilliantly against her pale skin. "Watch," whispered Lyness. She passed her hand through the flame.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

Lyness smiled. "Not a bit," she said to the flame.

A light knock at the door startled both of them. "Alice?" whispered Beth timidly, "Alice, are you in there?"

"I-I'd better go," mumbled Alice, jumping up. She stumbled backwards, her foot caught in Lyness's skirt.

"Alice?" Beth called again. "Are you ok?"

"I'm coming, Beth!" she called. "G-good-bye," she told Lyness quickly before fumbling with the lock and slipping out the door.

"Well?" asked Beth pointedly.

"Well, what?"

"Where are they?"

"What?"

Beth sighed dramatically. "You were going to get us some dry clothes, remember?" She pulled her towel more tightly over her wet clothes. "What happened in there? I told you she was a freak."

"She's not a freak," Alice murmured absently, looking back at the door, which was once again leaking scented smoke.

"Excuse me?"

Alice looked Beth in the eye. "She's not a freak. She seemed… nice."

"Are you kidding? Look, you don't know her. I've been coming here after school since kindergarten. Trust me, she's not normal."

"And you are?" came out before Alice could stop herself. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't-"

"Shut up. Look, I just thought I should warn you. I mean, you don't have to listen to me. I'm just your cousin. If you want to be friends with the freak, that's your business," Beth snapped. She spun away and marched back to the bathroom.

"Beth! Wait! I'm sorry, I-" Alice stopped outside the bathroom.

"It's fine, Alice, really. Just don't blame me when she gets you into trouble."

"You think she's dangerous?"

"You never can tell, can you?"

"But what's she done-"

"It's not what she's done," Beth said, plopping down on the bathmat. "It's just how she is. She doesn't make any sense. You talked to her; wasn't she a ditz?"

"I suppose she was-"

"She's like that all the time. She talks to people that aren't there. She never looks at you. Plus, just look at her! What is she? Goth? Zombie? Reject from a gypsy camp? And *what* is that *smell*?"

"It's incense," mumbled Alice.

"What?"

"It's incense. She's burning it on her nightstand."

"Why?"

"Dunno," said Alice, looking down.

"Well, what was her room like? I've never been in. I try and stay as far away- what was that?" Something rumbled down the hall.

"I'll check," said Alice. She ran back down to Lyness's room and knocked at the door. "Lyness? Are you alright? Lyness, open the door. It's Alice." Silence. Alice tried the door, but Lyness had locked it again. "Beth? Come help me! Something's wrong…"

Beth stepped into the hall again, but stayed within the square of light that fell through the bathroom doorway. "Come back here," she said softly.

"What?"

"Get away from there."

"But she could be hurt-"

"Please." Beth looked pale.

"Beth? What's wrong?"

"Please. Just come back. I'm… scared." She grabbed the door frame as though afraid she might lose her balance.

"Beth?" Alice rushed back down the hall and was just in time to steady her cousin. 

Later that night Beth sat up in bed, propped by extra pillows, having been thoroughly pampered by her anxious mother. Alice came in after dinner and sat down on her own bed across the room. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much," managed Beth with a small smile. "My headache's almost gone, and I don't feel dizzy any more."

"Thank goodness." Alice smiled back, "I didn't fancy toting your books back from school on Monday."

"Gee, I didn't know you cared."

There was an awkward silence before Alice asked, "Err… so then, what happened back there?"

"I'm not sure," Beth said, twisting her hands in her blanket. "I think… no, you won't believe me."

"Why not? What is it?"

"It sounds silly."

"Beth, if you know what happened and you don't tell anyone, how are we to help you keep it from happening again?" Alice reasoned.

"All right," Beth sighed. "I think… I think that *she* did something to me."

Alice frowned. "Who? Lyness? But she never came out of her room. She didn't even see you-"

"I told you that you wouldn't believe me," Beth pouted.

"It's not that. It's just, how could she do something to you without ever seeing you?"

"I told you she was creepy. She does things in there. Weird things."

Alice squirmed. She wondered what Beth would think of her family if she ever met them. "Do you really think she did something to you?"

"Well, what else could it be? I was fine this morning."

Alice admitted that it looked bad for Lyness, but made a mental note to try and talk to the girl again after school on Monday. Over the weekend Carrie and Martin took all three kids to the cinema. Alice remembered her father's explanation. "Since Muggle photographs don't move, they've had to be very creative. Remarkable, really. Some sort of mechanical process with the film. They shine a bright light though it and project in on a wall through several lenses. Then they all gather in rows of chairs that are bolted to the floor and stuff their mouths with sweets and popcorn." Beth had to spend most of the film answering Alice's questions. She gave up asking about the technical aspects quickly, unable to tell Beth why she'd never seen a film before. "Don't you have movies in England?" Beth asked her more than once. Eventually Alice concentrated on following the plot, which involved two kids trying to save the world with the help of several amazing gadgets (most of which Beth had never seen before either). 

After school on Monday Alice rushed off the bus, still trying to come up with a feasible excuse to talk to Lyness. She felt a strange kinship with the girl. Having magic in the Muggle world seemed more dangerous than not having it in the Wizarding one. At least no one accused her of making them sick. She had no way to be sure that Lyness hadn't caused Beth's illness, but somehow she couldn't believe that the girl would hurt anyone on purpose. A few minutes after she, Jake and Beth had started a half-hearted game of hide-and-seek a large brown truck pulled into Mrs. Rice's driveway, delivering Alice's excuse. The kids watched a man in brown shorts get out of the truck with a small package and head around to the front of the house.

"What d'you reckon they're getting?" Alice wondered aloud.

"Wolfsbane and dragon's teeth," muttered Jake, making a face. 

Beth shot her brother a dirty look. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Let's see!" called Jake mischievously, running after the delivery guy.

"Jake!" called Beth. "I don't want to know," she muttered.

"We'd better go after him," Alice suggested.

"Yeah, I guess."

The girls went in through the back door and made it to the front room just as the man rang the bell.

"Girls? Was that you I heard tearing through here?" called Mrs. Rice from the kitchen. "Could you get that? I'm a little… occupied right now."

"No problem, Mrs. Rice!" called Alice. The girls could hear Jake badgering the man through the door. "Reckon he needs a rescue?" Alice asked Beth.

"Good grief," grumbled Beth, pulling open the door. "Jake, get in here and leave him alone."

"Just a minute, Beth, I've got a few more questions for this so-called delivery man," said Jake, trying to sound grown-up. "Now, sir, you say you work for UPS, but how can we be sure?"

The man, who Alice now realized was more like an overgrown kid, with messy hair and bad acne, looked down at his uniform before giving Jake a haughty look. "Is you mother at home?" he asked the girls in a squeaky voice.

"Oh, we don't live here," said Beth quickly.

"But we can still take that for you," offered Alice. "We'll give it to Mrs. Rice right away."

"Well, I really think-" started the UPS guy.

"Thanks!" said Alice, grabbing the box. "Come on!" she said to Beth, pushing the door shut on Jake and the delivery man.


	10. The Spell

Chapter 10

"Alice! What are you doing? That could be anything!"

"Exactly. And don't you want to know what it is?" Alice grinned.

Mrs. Rice was still clattering around the kitchen, so the girls took the box into a corner of the living room. They were just about to open it when she appeared in the doorway. Alice thrust the box at Beth, who tucked it behind her. "Girls? Who was it?" she asked, drying a long spoon on her apron. 

"No one," they chorused. Mrs. Rice seemed surprised at their simultaneous answer. Beth thought quickly and amended her response, "It was… a Jehovah's Witness. We told him we already had a church."

"And he left already?" asked Mrs. Rice, heading back into the kitchen. "Must've been new."

When she was gone Alice started to ask Beth about her explanation, but Beth interrupted, "Look, I got rid of her. Let's see what's in the box." She pulled it out from behind her. 

"It's for Lyness," Alice realized. The box was long and flat, but rather heavy. The return address was written in French. 

"So what? She's just as weird as her mother. I'll bet whatever's in here is for something dangerous." Beth began to pick at the packaging tape.

"Wait-" said Alice.

"Is that my box?" whispered a soft voice from the landing at the top of the stairs. Lyness had come out when she heard the doorbell and was gazing vacantly at a spot on the wall behind Alice and Beth. Beth glanced behind her before giving Lyness a suspicious glare. "Maybe it is," she remarked. "Why don't you tell us what's in it, and we'll know if it's yours." 

Alice frowned. Lyness seemed so lost, childlike and ethereal. She was certain that Beth's fear was misplaced. The older girl was no threat. If anything, Lyness was the one who needed protection. Alice took a deep breath and met Beth's eyes. "Or we could just read the label. See, here it is: Miss Lyness Rice. I reckon it is yours," she said clearly, over Beth's protests. Lyness smiled a little and Alice drew the courage to take the next step. "One moment. I'll bring it up to your room." Lyness murmured a thank you and disappeared toward her room.

"What did you do that for?" asked Beth. "Now we can't open it."

"We can still find out what's in it. I'll take it up to Lyness, and when she opens it I'll see… whatever it is."

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"Whyever not?"

"It's just… not."

Alice raised her eyebrows.

"Look, I just don't think going in there is a good idea. I mean, you're lucky nothing happened last time. I can't believe you'd want to go back there."

"You're the one that was so curious. This is the safest way to find out what she's up to - I'll simply ask her," Alice retorted, grinning.

"What makes you think she'll tell you?"

Alice looked up to the landing where Lyness had been standing. "We have something in common."

A few minutes later Alice was knocking at Lyness's door. "Come in." Lyness's room was dim as usual, and the willowy girl was kneeling just as Alice had found her on Friday. The trunk altar supported several more glowing candles, in addition to the silver basin Lyness had shown her last time. The wooden figures had been replaced by an array of glass phials and jars, some fancy, others which looked more like they were meant to hold cheap fruit jellies than delicate dried leaves and fine powders. The curved knife lay untouched to one side. Lyness was arranging a wooden mortar and pestle beside a yellow plastic cutting board. "I've had to make do with what I could get from the kitchen," she murmured. "I'd love a stone tray, or even a wooden board, but this will serve it's purpose." She patted the tacky cutting board, "Even if it doesn't quite live up to one's… aesthetic desires. At least I found all of the ingredients."

"I've brought your package," Alice said, shutting the door behind her.

"I knew you would." Lyness turned and met Alice's eyes for the first time since their meeting, when she had sworn her to secrecy. She held up her hands for the box. Alice reached behind her and locked the door before taking a step toward Lyness. "What is it?"

Lyness simply smiled, her arms raised. Alice, with a feeling that she was presenting an offering to a god she didn't know, placed the box in Lyness's open hands.

"Thank you," said the older girl, "Come, sit." Alice did as she was bid and Lyness set the box on the floor between them. Without acknowledging her visitor further, Lyness pulled back her thick hair and secured it loosely with a leather tie. Taking in a deep breath she took up the scythe and used it to cut the package free of its wrappings. She ran her hands over the smooth white box inside and lifted the top. Under a layer of tissue and padding she revealed a long silver dagger with an engraved handle. She let out her breath with a delighted grin. Alice gasped. "It's… beautiful," she whispered. Lyness lifted the knife free and ran her hand softly over the blade. "Yes." She placed it on the trunk with the scythe. "Now we can begin."

"I'm sorry - begin what?" asked Alice.

"Begin the spell," she told the ingredients.

"Oh. Right." She watched Lyness lean over the silver basin. "What spell is that, exactly?"

Lyness was silent. She stared into the water, blew ripples across it and nodded at their progress. She took up one of the phials and sprinkled its dusty contents across the surface of the water. She took four round leaves from a jelly jar and sliced them into thin strips with her scythe. She stripped the small brown buds from a twig and tipped them into the mortar. She added some dry crystals and handed the pestle to Alice. "Grind it to a fine dust." While Alice mashed the contents Lyness slid the sliced leaves off the cutting board into the basin. She crumbled a few dried leaves in her hand and threw them in as well. Then she took the mortar back from Alice and threw three pinches into the water. She stirred the mixture with the twig she'd stripped. Alice thought she heard her whisper a few words in another language as the water slowly turned brown. Lyness sat back and looked at Alice.

"Is that it?" asked Alice.

"There's one more ingredient," she answered. She took up the dagger. Alice was entranced by the candlelight glittering on the blade. "Give me your hand."

Alice shook herself. "W-what?"

"Your hand," said Lyness calmly.

"I… I don't think…"

Lyness locked her gaze. "You can trust me." She held Alice's eyes for what seemed hours. Alice swayed a little in her trance. She somehow knew that Lyness's lips were moving, but didn't hear the words. A gentle voice in her head whispered that she was safe, that she should listen to this girl, whom she'd so recently met. She saw her arm rise. Lyness cupped her hand in her own. Alice barely felt Lyness's soft skin or point of the silver dagger. She leaned forward when Lyness pulled her hand over the basin. The witch turned her hand over and squeezed three drops of blood from her index finger. Each drop elicited a hiss and a wisp of smoke. Alice woke with a start and pulled back her hand. The water began to boil without any applied heat. Soon the water had almost completely evaporated. Lyness molded some of the mixture into a rough ball and slipped it into a small leather pouch. She pulled the drawstring tight and tied a long ribbon around it. Alice bowed her head, somehow knowing that it was for her. Lyness looped the ribbon around Alice's neck. Alice touched the bag, which fell nearly to her waist. It was cool. When she looked up, Lyness had put the basin away. She wondered briefly what had happened to the rest of the mixture. 

"You'll be safe now."

"Thank you." Alice smiled.

"I hope it works."

"Me too." 

The girls laughed. "Why is Beth afraid of you?" Alice asked before she could stop herself.

Lyness looked away. "She fears what is different." She sat back and settled her skirt around her feet. "She doesn't understand magick. Not like you do."

"But I don't understand it at all," said Alice honestly. 

"There is strength in you. Do you not feel it?"

"No."

Lyness shook her head. "Yet it is there. Whether you believe in it or not."

Alice looked down and fingered the pouch around her neck. If its magic was dependant on her belief, it would do as much good on a shelf. The bag warmed in her hand and she heard the voice again, telling her it was real.

"What do we do now?"

"We go on, as usual," Lyness answered.

Alice met Beth at the bottom of the stairs. "So? What was it?" asked her cousin.

"A knife," whispered Alice, her hand on the pouch.

"A knife?!?"

"A dagger."

"And that's less scary than a knife how?"

Alice saw Beth panicking and led her to the living room. "It's fine, really."

"Fine? Weirdo gets a mail-order weapon and that's supposed to be fine?" Beth rubbed her head.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. What about you? You were up there forever with that freak and her knife."

"I told you she wasn't a freak," protested Alice, playing with the pouch. "She wants to help us."

"Help us what?"

"I don't know."

Beth rubbed her head again and clutched the arm of the couch.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Alice, sitting down beside her. Beth moaned and fell back against the cushions. "Beth!"


	11. The Fire

Chapter 11

"Beth! Beth! What's wrong?"

Beth groaned, "I don't know. I just feel so… tired. My head is killing me, and I feel like the whole world is spinning."

Alice stood up. "I'll get Mrs. Rice. Maybe she has some… medicine or something."

"No!" Beth grabbed her hand. "Please."

"What? If it's that bad-"

"She… she's probably doing this to me."

Alice frowned, "Why would she do that though? No, I know you think she's weird, but do you really think she's making you sick?"

Beth nodded weakly.

Alice sighed. Beth obviously needed help and she didn't know what to do for her. Her instinct had always been to run to the nearest adult, but she wasn't sure that she trusted Lyness's mother any more than Beth did. "What if I call your mom?" she finally suggested. "She's supposed to be here soon anyway. Maybe she can get here early."

"Alright," Beth whispered.

Alice found a cordless phone on a table across the room and dialed the number Carrie had given her in case of emergencies. "It's going to be ok," she told Beth. She hoped she was right. Beth was still rubbing her head, lying back on the couch. No, not lying. She was sitting up again, her head propped on the arm. She looked up.

"Wait," mumbled Beth. The phone was ringing.

"What? Why?" 

Beth sat up straighter. "Hang up. I feel… better." She blinked. "I mean, my head kills, but it's not like it was."

"Are you sure?" The phone was on it's fourth ring.

"Yeah. Mom'll be here soon."

"Ok," Alice hung up the phone and put it back on the table. "You're sure you're all right?"

"Yeah. I'm just really tired. I think I want to sit here for a while."

Alice studied her cousin. She did seem better, not as pale. Remembering what Carrie had done the last time Beth was ill, Alice headed for the kitchen. "I'll get us a snack." She was surprised to find the kitchen empty, but her growling stomach quickly drew her attention away from the missing Mrs. Rice. Maybe she needed as snack as much as Beth did. She hunted through the Rices' pantry, peering around organic grains and exotic labels. "She usually has raisins on the second shelf!" called Beth from the other room.

"Second from the top, or from the bottom?" wondered Alice.

"Do you need help?" Beth asked, coming into the kitchen.

"No, just a minute… Beth! You're up!"

"I told you it was no big deal," Beth smiled and came to look into the pantry herself. She shoved aside a box of wheat germ and pushed past an unlabeled jar of something slimy. "It's usually right here," she said. She blinked and shook her head. "Maybe she moved it over here…" She looked behind a bag of potatoes and shook her head again. "I guess she's out," said Beth, putting her hand to her head.

Alice went to the fridge, "Maybe she has some fruit." As she passed Beth her cousin grabbed her arm to steady herself. "Not again," she heard Beth mumble. 

"Beth? Let's go back to the couch," Alice said, putting her arm around her.

"I don't know what's happening," moaned Beth. "I felt so much better while I was waiting for you, but when I came in here my headache came back. Now it's worse." When they got back to the living room Lyness was standing on her landing. "Keep her away from me!" cried Beth.

"Is something wrong?" asked Lyness.

"Beth's sick-" started Alice.

"You did this to me!" Beth yelled up the stairs. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Doing what?" Lyness asked.

"You know what, you-"

"Beth! Calm down… Please, come on, we're almost there." 

"She-she's doing this," Beth whispered weakly, clinging to Alice. "Please… do something."

"I will. Let's just get you to the-" Beth passed out as soon as she felt the couch beneath her.

"Is she all right?" asked Lyness.

"I don't know. I can't figure out what's wrong with her. She seems fine one moment and she's like this the next." 

"It's started then."

"What?"

Lyness looked around. "It is not safe here. You must come with me. I haven't the strength…"

"The strength for what? Come where?"

Lyness beckoned her. "There is much to prepare. Come."

Alice had started up the stairs when Beth moan and shuddered in her sleep. Beth opened her eyes for a second, but her eyes had no chance to focus before she passed out again. "What about Beth?"

Lyness's expression became grave. "Leave her alone. There is nothing more you can do for her now." She disappeared down the hall.

"Wait! Lyness! What's happening? Do you know what's making Beth sick?" Alice charged up the stairs after her. When she got to Lyness's room the older girl was lighting a large circle of candles on the floor. "Lyness? What are you doing? What's going on? Tell me something!"

"Hush."

"But-"

Lyness paused for a moment and stared into Alice's eyes. "There isn't time. She's gone to far. She'll kill us too if we don't fight back. We have to stop her. Now." She held out her hand.

Alice was too confused to argue. She took Lyness's hand and stepped into the glowing ring. "What are we doing?"

"Another spell."

Alice remembered the pouch, which was still around her neck. "You said this would protect me. What does it really do?"

"I didn't lie to you."

"What does it do?" Alice asked again, more urgently.

"It protects you from harm."

"But only me."

"Yes."

Alice's mind was racing. "You said, 'She'll kill us too'."

"She's stronger than I am. The talisman will protect you from almost everything, but she gets more powerful all the time."

"She who?"

They heard the door open downstairs. "Oh no! She's here! Quick!" Lyness sat in the center of the circle and pulled Alice down beside her. 

"Who's here? What are we doing?" persisted Alice.

"A protection spell. So she can't get in here."

"Can't we just lock the door?"

Lyness ignored her. 

"And what about Beth? If there's something out there, shouldn't she be in here?"

"It's too late for her."

"What?!?"

Someone knocked on Lyness's door. Lyness grabbed Alice's hand and began mumbling incoherently. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Lyness, child, open the door," came Mrs. Rice's soft voice. Lyness continued her spell. "Lyness? I know you're in there. Open the door. We have work to do." Lyness's hand tightened around Alice's. Mrs. Rice tried the door. Alice didn't remember locking it when she came in, but she must have. The knob clicked, but the door remained closed. "Lyness," Mrs. Rice said more firmly. "Stop playing around." Lyness's words grew louder, as if she were trying to block out her mother's voice. "Lyness! Come out. I'm going to do this with or without you, but it will go so much easier if you're with me." She hit the door. Shook the knob. Pounded. "Lyness!" Then silence. 

Lyness opened one eye. "Is she gone?"

"I think so."

Far away someone screamed.

"Oh God! Beth!" exclaimed Alice. She jumped to her feet, knocking over a candle. She tripped and landed hard outside the circle.

"Alice!" shrieked Lyness.

Downstairs Alice heard Beth's voice, "Stop it! Leave me alone you old witch!" She sounded strong and angry. There was a loud crack and her screaming ended. Alice's mind felt foggy; she struggled to make sense of the noises around her. Lyness was still yelling her name, trying to tell her something. Someone else was screaming too. She could hear feet pounding the floor and violent thuds and rattles. It was so warm in Lyness's room. It had been cool outside. Was the heat on already? It must have been because of all the candles… The candles! Alice lifted her head to look down at her leg, which felt warm. It took her a moment to recognize what she saw. Her leg was on fire. Her jeans were burning. It didn't hurt. Lyness was still sitting inside the ring of candles, but between them the rug was burning too. Her eyes were wide. Alice swatted futilely at the flames on her leg, knowing this should hurt. She remembered Lyness putting her hand through the flame the day they met. She'd been so worried for her. Now she somehow knew that the fire wouldn't hurt her either. "Lyness," she said.

"Oh, the fire…" whispered Lyness, "It's everywhere."

"It's ok. It doesn't hurt," said Alice, feeling as confused as Lyness looked. "We have to get out of here."

"It's happening," Lyness said, her customary far-off look returning.

Alice decided to ask for clarifications later. "Yes," she agreed, "it is. Now let's go." She stood up and beat out the fire on her leg. She reached for Lyness's hand, but the other girl had retreated from the fire. She was so close to the other side of the circle that she was now in danger of knocking over those candles. "Lyness, be careful!" Alice pleaded. Lyness closed her eyes. 

"No! Get away! Somebody help!" Alice finally recognized the screaming voice downstairs. It was Jake. 


	12. The Dark Lord

Chapter 12

"Lyness!" Alice yelled. The fire was spreading. If she didn't do something soon the other girl would be trapped. Lyness sat cross-legged, rocking and mumbling in another language. Jake was still running around downstairs, yelling at someone and sounding more exhausted every minute. She couldn't hear Beth at all any more. Alice absently fingered the leather pouch around her neck. She needed something to put out the fire, or at least deaden it between Lyness and the door. The silver basin was still on the trunk in the corner. Had Lyness refilled it after they made the talisman? The only way to find out was to cross through the fire, which had spread almost across the room. Alice took a deep breath and held tight to the talisman. "Please let this work," she whispered. She stepped into the fire. It tickled. "Wicked!" she giggled. A loud crash from downstairs reminded her to hurry. She skidded across the room and grabbed the basin. It was empty. As if she didn't have enough problems, Lyness's rocking became more violent and more candles toppled. "Ok, no water. Fire between me and Lyness, but that doesn't matter because I have the talisman. More fire between her and the door. That does matter because she doesn't have one. Need something to block it with…something… thick." The bedspread. It was even on this side of the room. Alice pulled it off the bed and pushed past the candles. "Lyness, come on!" she said. She threw the spread around the girl and shook her. "Get up! We have to get out of here!" With one hand on Lyness's arm and the other clutching her talisman, Alice ran through the flames. She pulled open the door and pushed Lyness through it in front of her. She slammed the door shut behind them.

"We should not be out here," whispered Lyness, "it is not safe."

Alice looked from Lyness to the bedroom door. The wisps of smoke emerging this time weren't from incense. Alice couldn't hold anything back any longer, "Have you gone mad? Because that's a fire in there. Your room is burning. We shouldn't just be out of there, we should be out of the house!"

Lyness was hugging herself and her eyes had resumed their unfocused gaze. "She'll get you now. She is too strong."

"Who? Who are we running from?"

Something fell in the bedroom as the fire consumed Lyness's belongings. With a jolt she lunged for the door. "My things!"

"No!" Alice grabbed Lyness before she could get back inside.

"Let me go! I need- I need my-"

"What?"

"I have to do something! I have to stop her!" Lyness stopped struggling and the girls sank to the floor.

"Who?" Alice asked quietly.

"She's doing it for me. It's all my fault. It's for me. For my birthday." Tears streaked her smoke-stained face. She raised her head absently at the sound of another crash downstairs. Jake hadn't made any noise for a few minutes. "She has taken them. Two. She needs only one more. For me."

Alice stood up and headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"To help them."

"She'll hurt you."

"Not while I have this," Alice countered, holding the talisman off her chest.

"Do not pass through the five points."

"Er, alright then."

At the landing Alice knelt down and peeked through the banister railings. The living room was dim. The curtains were closed and the lamps unlit. A soft glow flickered around the corner near where the living room opened into the kitchen.

"Come down little witch," whispered Mrs. Rice, "and join your cousins."

Alice gripped the talisman and wished its powers extended to calming her racing heart. She felt as if her chest would explode. "What did you do to them?" she called down, her voice quivering a little. Where were they? She couldn't see anyone from where she was, just glittering light reflecting off the glass-topped table in the living room.

"Come down and see for yourself."

"Er… I'd rather not."

"They're going to die."

"No!" Alice yelled.

Mrs. Rice laughed. The sound echoed softly in the kitchen like a pebble dropped down a very deep well. Creeping down the steps, Alice imagined herself entering a long dark cavern. She felt the walls closing in around her.

"Come and stop me, child."

At the base of the stairs Alice bent down again and peered around the corner. Now she could see into part of the kitchen. There were candles on the floor, five of them set in a large circle. It was difficult to see in the dim light, but she could almost make out two forms inside the ring. They weren't moving. Alice hoped that Mrs. Rice hadn't lied to her when she said they would die. They seemed lifeless already. The woman stepped out from the kitchen in front of the candles. "Ah, there you are." Alice was struck by how small and delicate she looked in front of the light. Her flowing skirt and long sweater enveloped her like a great dark cloak.

"What did you do to them?"

"They are for my Lord," said Mrs. Rice, smiling, "and so are you."

"I am not!"

"Come in to me. You are the third. Three innocents within the flames. The Dark Lord commands it."

"The Dark Lord?" Alice had never heard of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named coming to America. The Wizarding newspapers and WWN had started warning of a growth among active Deatheaters in the last couple of years. It was becoming dangerous for Muggle-borns to travel in some of the less populated parts of Britain. People were starting to wonder if the articles about Harry Potter's accident at the Tri-Wizard Tournament in some of the less reputable papers held more truth than the official statement. They'd said that boy who'd died had been the victim of a plot by the Bulgarian headmaster to ensure the victory of his own champion. Karkaroff hadn't known that Krum had been hurt himself, by one of the monsters in the maze, when he attacked Krum's competition. Karkaroff's subsequent disappearance had helped the public believe in his guilt. Some of the tabloids disagreed with the official version of events. They suggested that both Harry and the other boy had been victims of darker magic. Some even hinted at a return of the Dark Lord. None had mentioned a reach this far.

"My Lord, the Prince of Darkness. He came to me. He is good to his supporters."

Alice wondered when He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named had risen to royalty. Either he was much more powerful than anyone had suspected, or he was becoming much more arrogant. Noting the bliss on Mrs. Rice's face, she supposed there could be another possibility. Perhaps she was mad.

"Er… Mrs. Rice? What are you doing?"

"I have been blessed. The Dark Lord is pleased. He honors me by accepting my offerings."

"Er… right. Well, could you offer him something else? Cause I really like Beth and Jake."

"Do not worry, little witch. You will join them." 

"About that, see, I think you're confused. I'm not a witch. Lyness-"

"It is all for her. Lyness will be initiated. Thirteen years I have waited."

Smoke was starting to snake down the stairs. Alice hoped that Lyness hadn't gone back into her room. "Could you wait a bit longer?" She ran back up the stairs. "Lyness!" At the top of the stairs she could see smoke billowing through Lyness's open door. "Oi! Lyness! Where are you?" Waving her arms in front of her to dispel the clouds of smoke, Alice edged along the wall towards the room. She tried to call out again, but choked on the smoke. She was forced to get to her hands and knees in an effort to avoid the rising clouds. The air was clearer there and she crawled down the hall. Halfway to Lyness's door she felt something soft on the floor and recognized the edge of Lyness's skirt. The older girl was coughing, stretched out on the floor. Alice helped her to her knees and they crawled back towards the stairs.

"I…I had to get-" Lyness wheezed. She held up one hand to show Alice what she'd rescued from her room. She gripped her new dagger.

"Er… good. That'll be… useful."

When they got to the bottom of the stairs Alice tried to leave Lyness in the living room - she still seemed disoriented. "No. It's because of me. I have to stop her," Lyness murmured. She held on to Alice's arm as she moved towards the kitchen. There was no sign of Mrs. Rice, but the candles were still in place and Alice was now sure the forms inside the ring were Beth and Jake. As if they could sense her approaching, they were struggling. Alice guessed that they were bound, at least at their hands an feet. She barely suppressed a sigh of relief when she saw that they were still alive.

"She needs three," whispered Lyness.

"Where is she?" whispered Alice.

Lyness shook her head.

"Let's get them and get out of here," Alice whispered.

"You must not cross the five points," Lyness reminded her.

"Yeah, I meant to ask you - never mind." There were footsteps in the kitchen. Beth and Jake stopped moving. Beth's eyes were wide.

"Is that you, little witch? I hear little voices, little steps, coming my way," Mrs. Rice called, her raspy voice somehow creepier in her attempt to sound cheerful. She stepped into view and Alice fought back the irrational thought that Lyness's mother had no business calling anyone little. Maybe she could try a growing spell on herself…

"So you're back now? Very rude, you know, leaving in the middle of our conversation."

"Sorry about that, Mrs. Rice. Go on then, something about the Prince of Darkness and waiting thirteen years, and doing it all for Lyness."

"Time runs short. Come to me now." 

Lyness stepped forward, "Mother, stop this."

"It's for you I do this, child. You will understand when you're older."

"I don't want this. Please stop it."

Lyness held Mrs. Rice's rapt attention. Alice waited for Mrs. Rice to turn away from her to speak with Lyness and then slipped behind her into the kitchen. Beth had rolled onto her knees and was struggling to sit up. Jake was lying on his side, eyes wide, breathing hard. When Beth got to her knees she recognized Alice hovering just inside the doorway. "What's going on?" Beth whispered.

"We have to get out of here," Alice mouthed. She threw a look back at Lyness and Mrs. Rice, who were getting into a more heated argument. Alice wasn't sure what Lyness had done with her dagger, but she didn't see it, so she hoped that no one was in danger of being stabbed for a while. She crawled across the kitchen floor and reached for Beth's hands, which were tied behind her. Beth turned around and kneeled at the edge of the ring."What are they doing?" she asked Alice over her shoulder.

"They're arguing over what they should do with us."

"Who's winning?" Jake asked from the floor.

"I'm not sure." She yelped as her nail caught on the tape wrapped around Beth's wrists.

"Shhh!" hissed Beth, "They'll hear you!"

"Sorry," Alice whispered more quietly, leaning in closer. "What did she use on you? A Binding Curse?"

"Duck tape," muttered Jake.


	13. The Witch Bus

Chapter 13

"Shhh!" Beth whispered again.

"Sorry," murmured Alice, working at the tape that secured Beth's hands. The leather pouch around her neck kept getting in the way. Alice swatted it to the side while she worked.

Beth coughed. "Oh, not again," she rasped. She slumped back against Alice, breathing shallowly. Beth gently rolled her to her side on the floor so that she could still work at the tape.

"Beth?" whispered Jake.

"Come on, I've almost got it," Alice assured her, batting at the pouch again. Finally she tucked it between Beth's back and her bound hands. 

Beth coughed again and moaned. "What is that?" she mumbled, "It hurts."

"What?" Alice frowned, taking her hands away. She wondered if she'd pulled too hard and ripped the tape across Beth's wrist. Then she noticed Beth twisting her hands and trying to pull them away from her back. Quickly, Alice pulled out the talisman and tossed it aside. Beth sighed contentedly, but did not sit up. "Beth, come on!" Alice ripped off the last piece of tape. She helped her cousin sit up and set her working on the tape around her ankles. Beth was still wheezing, but she shook herself and started picking at the tape. Alice crawled around her and tried to help Jake.

"No!" shrieked Lyness. Her mother was smiling as she wrenched the dagger from Lyness's hand.

"Three within the flames," hissed Mrs. Rice.

"The five points," Lyness whispered, trancelike.

Startled, Alice looked up from behind Jake. Lyness had fallen to the floor and her mother was advancing on the ring of candles. Surrounded by tiny glowing flames, Alice had a better view of their configuration. They were connected by trails of powder, only slightly disturbed where she'd crawled into the ring. No, not a ring. A pentagram. Five points. "Oh."

"What?" whispered Beth. She ripped her feet free and started working on Jake's.

"Er.. We're in trouble."

"No kidding," said Jake, squirming.

"My Lord, I summon Thee," croaked Mrs. Rice, "I bring Thy offerings. The Three." She held her arms high in the air, lifted her head and closed her eyes.

"Beth, can you move?" Alice whispered.

"I think so. My head feels better… Jake?"

Jake flung away the last piece of tape from his ankles, "Yeah. Can we run now?"

Alice nodded and helped Beth up. They charged the back door, ignoring Mrs. Rice's screams behind them. Sliding across the linoleum, they slammed into the door and fought each other for the handle. Beth caught it first. "It's locked!"

"Well, unlock it!" hissed Jake.

"I'm trying," Beth answered, through gritted teeth.

"Hurry, she's coming!" Jake cried.

Alice turned to face Mrs. Rice, she wanted to see her coming. Lyness's mother, who had always seemed too young to have a thirteen year old child, seemed to have aged several decades. Her face was contorted with an expression of purer hatred than Alice had ever imagined. 

"Leave us alone!" Alice screamed. Mrs. Rice's face was becoming more and more distorted. "Just leave us alone!" She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, only then realizing that she was crying. In the back of her mind she heard Lyness's voice, chanting another spell, "Oh goddess of the dark and light, protect us on this fearsome night. And if the danger gets too near, Goddess, make it disappear". The words sang and she heard herself repeating them, their strength growing as her voice rose. Mrs. Rice began to fade out of focus again. Alice rubbed her eyes violently, but it didn't help. "Disappear!" she cried, blinking furiously. When she opened her eyes she saw Lyness sitting cross-legged in the center of the ring of candles. The pentagram and Mrs. Rice were both gone. Lyness looked up and smiled. 

"Come on!" yelled Beth, dragging her out through the back door. The fire had reached the first floor and was spreading through the living room. 

"Wait-"

"No, we have to go now!" Beth pulled her outside and away from the house. A moment later part of the ceiling gave way, obscuring the kitchen in a cloud of smoke, dust and flames. Jake was hanging on the tire swing staring at the house with his eyes and mouth wide open. Beth sat down in the grass and hugged her knees. 

Standing beside her, Alice fought back tears with an angry hand. "We have to do something…"

Beth nodded.

"We can't leave her in there!" Alice said.

Beth nodded.

"We should-should call the police," said Jake quietly.

Beth shook her head, "They're already coming." Sirens rang from a long distance. "One of the neighbors…"

"They'll be too late," worried Alice.

"Too late for what?"

Alice spun around. This new apparition was far stranger than anything she'd seen that evening. Lyness, unharmed with the exception of a gash on her arm and smoke stains from her curls to her sandals, stood before a giant. An enormous man in a great coat and full beard, wearing huge black boots and carrying an umbrella - a pink umbrella - cleared his throat. 

"Er… Hullo then. Reckon yer the one responsible fur this mess, eh? Kids, yeh don' think afore yeh act. Gets yeh inter heaps of trouble."

"Ex-excuse me?" squeaked Alice.

"Doin' magic in front er Muggles. And not even started at Hogwarts yet. Yeh oughter know better," the man reprimanded her.

"What are you talking about? I can't do magic!"

"Well, yeh made her disappear, din' yeh? That's some magic there. I jes hope she reappears sum'er there aren' too many Muggles about."

"I-what? No, I'm… I'm a squib. I couldn't do something like that!" Alice argued.

The man looked confused. "Who told yeh that? Yer nothing' o' the sort. Lookit what yeh did here."

"Lyness-"

"Got a differ't note for her. Yer Alice Grey, right?"

Alice nodded.

The giant seemed satisfied. "Then yer the one 'at done it. Says right 'ere," he said, taking out a slip of parchment and showing it to her. Her name was printed on it in large green letters.

"But I-"

"None 'o that! Now yeh listen ter me. I bin sent to bring yeh back, an' I'm not wastin' any more time."

"Who *are* you?" asked Jake.

The giant straightened his coat and looked at the boy anxiously. "I'm… er… I'm a constaple. That's right. An' yer all in a right bit o' trouble."

"A what?" asked Beth.

"I think you mean 'constable,'" Alice helped.

"What?" asked Jake. 

"I think he means a police officer," murmured Lyness. "You're in America you know," she told the giant.

While the kids tried to work out who this giant was, and where he'd come from, an older woman came through the backyard fence. "Children, come away from the house," she called. She had a strong British accent. She shepherded them through the gate and across the street. In the neighbor's front yard she introduced herself, "I'm Mrs. Figg, children. I'm a friend of your mother's. She asked me to check up on you."

"She did?" asked Beth, skeptically.

"Yes, dear," she said, looking deeply into Beth's eyes. "The police will be here soon. You should come with me so that you're not in the way. You too," she said to Jake. "Let's get you home."

"What about us?" asked Alice.

Mrs. Figg raised her head to acknowledge the giant, who had followed the kids across the street. "You should go with Hagrid. He'll take good care of you."

Though Alice had no reason to trust this woman, whom she had only just met, she somehow felt safe under her care. The giant, though intimidating at first, seemed equally benign.

"Right then, come on you two," said the giant.

"Where are we going?" Alice asked, watching Mrs. Figg leave with her cousins.

"Ter Hogwarts, o' course," he said. When he continued he addressed Lyness, "But we got ter make a stop off first."

"Where?" Alice asked.

"The Salem Witches' Institute. Got ter see Lyness safely off."

"I'm going to a witches' institute?" asked Lyness, alternating quickly between expressions of surprise, awe and fear.

"But I thought you said I was the one-" Alice began.

"And yeh are. Don' know why she's got to go there, jes doin' what the headmaster asked." He looked around, "Well, now I'm here, I'm not meant ter use magic, but I reckon the Witch Bus'll get us there a might quicker than the Muggle one." He gave Alice a hopeful grin.

"Which bus?" ask Lyness. Alice tried hard to work out whether her friend wore a new expression of confusion, or just her usual faraway look.

"Yup. Bit like the Knight Bus back home."

"Oh," said Alice. Her mother had used the Knight Bus to bring her home from camp one night when she was six. She'd gotten homesick on the first night after having trouble with some of the magical games. Now, as she and Lyness followed Hagrid around the block she tried to explain how it worked. She wondered if calling the Witch Bus worked differently than calling the Knight Bus. Her mother had simply raised her wand to summon it. Hagrid didn't seem to have a one with him, just that big umbrella.

"Right then, I reckon this spot'll do," he said finally. He stepped to the curb and raise the umbrella. "Our secret, right?" Alice nodded. "Lumos!" he said. The tip of the umbrella lit up and Alice realized that it concealed his wand. Almost immediately a large blue bus appeared in front of them and slid to a smooth stop at the curb. The doors opened and an elderly witch in long robes beckoned them into it. She put an arm around each of the girls and led them into a softly lit chamber lined with couches, big fluffy armchairs and recliners. "Yeh go ahead an' get some seats," called Hagrid, "I've got to give 'er some directions." He waved them on and went to the speak with the driver, another old witch in long soft robes.

"Come along now, girls," clucked the witch. "Would you like a couch? A chair? We've some nice rockers upstairs."

"Upstairs?" whispered Lyness.

"Yes dear," smiled the old witch.

Hagrid rejoined them as they were getting comfortable on a large red couch with soft purple pillows. "Won't be but a few minutes," he told them. "Salem's not far." As if to prove his point the bus stopped again. 

"Salem, Massachusetts. Salem Witches' Institute," announced the driver. 

"Here's your stop girls," the old witch clarified. "Have a good stay. I hope you enjoyed your trip."

"Er, thanks," Alice responded as the witch led them back to the front of the bus.

"Good-bye," murmured Lyness. The bus made a small popping sound and disappeared.

"Right then," Hagrid began. He pulled out a large piece of parchment and studied it. "Map says… s'over… there," he announced. He pointed to a quaint village set a little way off the road. 

"The Village?" asked Lyness. "It isn't open in the wintertime."

"It looks open now," said Alice. The village, made up of several small houses, looked as though it had been built four hundred years ago, but was still teeming with life. Women in long robes and dark dresses wandered in and out of the buildings and up and down the cobblestone street.

"What do you mean?" asked Lyness, "The gate's locked, and the sign-"

"What sign?"


	14. The Friend Ship

Chapter 14

Hagrid chuckled. "Right, well, got to work the spell then, haven't I?"

"What spell?" asked Alice.

"Ter let her see it."

"See what?" asked Lyness. "There's nothing wrong with my vision. This is the Salem Pioneer Village. It's a tourist attraction, but it's closed now. The sign says so. 'Pioneer Village, Open April Through September.' See?"

"Where? What sign?" asked Alice again. Some of the little buildings had hand painted signs above their doors with pictures of shoes, or coats. One had a fat pink pig standing with a fluffy chicken. She could see no sign with words on it.

"It's the purtection spell, see? Ter keep out the Muggles. Cloaks the real village. It's summat like th' one we got at Hogwarts," Hagrid explained.

"She can't see any of it?" asked Alice.

"What are you talking about? I see everything!" 

Alice was startled by Lyness's vehemence. Away from her mother she had become more focused, as if a haze had lifted.

"Jus' wait," mutter Hagrid, raising his umbrella. "Now th' charm… err… Optiveritum!"

Lyness's eyes grew wide. 

"Now do you see?" Alice asked.

"Where did the sign go?"

Alice smiled.

"And the people… everywhere… where did they…? Who are…?" 

"Come on. We got ter be quick. Don' want any other Muggles stumblin' in while the charm's down," Hagrid told them, ushering them down the street. "Course if they do see it, per'aps they'll think it's decorated fer Halloween." They turned in at a house halfway down the street. Alice thought she saw a star on the sign above the door. The room inside was obviously enhanced by magic.

"It didn't look this big from outside…" whispered Lyness.

"It's magic," Alice whispered back, grinning. 

"Good evening, Hagrid," said a pretty witch behind a large wooden desk. "Good evening, girls." She stood and smiled at Lyness. "Is this the one?" she asked.

"She is," boomed Hagrid, "Brought 'er 'ere me self. Special assignment from Dumbledore."

"Welcome to the Salem Witches' Institute, Lyness," offered the witch. "I am Eiren MacGuire."

"Pleased to meet you," murmured Lyness, still taking in the magical room. 

"I am so pleased to meet you," Eiren bubbled. "We have been waiting for you."

"You have?" asked Alice.

"Yes," Eiren told her. "Lyness is very special."

Alice tried very hard not to roll her eyes. Of course Lyness was special. She had never been to a magical school, or met any other witches, yet she had made a talisman that had protected Alice from the fire. She understood magical elements and spells and forms. And she couldn't see past a Muggle repellent charm. Alice looked at Lyness, unsure that she knew her at all. Lyness self-consciously brushed her dark curls out of her face and stared intently at a spot on the floor. 

Hagrid cleared his throat, "Right then. 'Twas nice ter meet yeh, Lyness. Good ter see yeh again, Eiren, but I reckon Alice an' I'll be goin' now. Got ter catch the Friend Ship."

"Wait!" cried Alice, "We're leaving her here?" She looked from Hagrid's retreating form to the slender witch behind the desk.

"Lyness will be safe with us," Eiren assured her.

Lyness raised her eyes to Alice's. "She's right. This place is… amazing. Don't worry about me," she said, with all of her former serenity.

"Are you sure?" Alice asked.

"Yes," answered Lyness. She smiled.

"Come on, Alice. We'll miss th' ship," urged Hagrid.

"Good-bye Alice," said Lyness.

"Good-bye," she answered. She followed Hagrid out of the village. At the main street he raised his umbrella again and replaced the charm of illusion. Then he hurried them toward the wharf. Alice had to jog to keep up with his broad strides. By the time the ship came into view Alice had to gasp for breath. She could feel a painful stitch forming in her side. The ship glowed in the darkness. It looked as old as the village, but somehow as new as if it had been created that night. White letters spelled out "Friendship" inside a golden frame on the black hull. 

"Still here, good," sighed Hagrid. Alice thought he almost sounded a little winded too. A sailor in a long robe ushered them onboard and led them to a too spacious cabin. "Used ter be a Muggle vessel," Hagrid explained. "It's magically expanded like the bus." On a table by the door to their cabin Alice found a card with the ship's history. When Hagrid told her that their trip might take some time she took the card and settled into a comfortable armchair. 

"The History of the "Friend Ship" is one of enormous wealth, violence, and magic. The three-masted, square-rigged, 342-ton vessel, **_Friendship_**, was registered in 1797 to merchants Jerathmiel Peirce and Aaron Waite. She traveled the world trading for exotic spices, sugar and coffee, making 16 voyages to China, Java, Sumatra, Madras, London. Hamburg, Archangel, St.Petersburg, and other European ports. She was captured by the British in the War of 1812. The Peabody Essex Museum houses the ship logs for several of her voyages, as well as Aaron Waite's shipping papers detailing information about the ship's accounts. Muggles now believe her to be a reconstruction of the 171-foot Salem East Indiaman begun in 1796. Memories were modified and the new information given out suggests that she arrived on September 1, 1998 at the National Park Service's Salem Maritime National Historic Site in Salem, after two years of construction at Scarano Boat Building in Albany. To all non-magical people she is the largest wooden, Coast Guard certified, sailing vessel to be built in New England in more than a century.

In actuality the ship has continued her voyages uninterrupted since 1797. The American Department of Magical Affairs arranged her "capture" by the British in 1812 with their Ministry of Magic. While in England the ship was modified to serve the magical community. It can now travel almost instantaneously from one body of water to another, linking witches and wizards from all continents with the utmost luxury." 

"Wicked!" murmured Alice. "I wonder if Dad knows about this." Still a bit scared of her giant fellow traveler, Alice spent most of the trip exploring the tall ship. By the time they arrived at their destination she could probably have led the tours the ship's owners gave Muggles in Massachusetts. She'd gotten dizzy watching the landscapes whiz by on deck and come back to their cabin when Hagrid returned from his own business elsewhere on the ship. The torches were dim and she had almost fallen asleep in the armchair. 

"Reckon we're here," he announced with a grin. "Come on up an' see yer new home."

"What? Where are we?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"At Hogwarts o' course. Told yer we were comin' din' I?"

Alice sat up immediately, "We're at Hogwarts? I'm going to live at Hogwarts?"

"Yup. Now let's go. We got ter see Dumbledore," he told her. "And we got ter get yeh off ter bed," he added when she failed to stifle a yawn.

"I'm not sleepy," she protested. Hagrid took her hand and led her off the ship. From land she could see that the ship was docked in a great black lake. An expanse of green lawn extended all the way from the lake, up a hill, to an enormous castle. "Wow."

"Welcome ter Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," said Hagrid.

Although Alice had heard about the school her whole life, its size amazed her. She couldn't imagine ever knowing it well enough to find her way to class. Inside the castle felt warm despite the stone halls. "Watch out fer th' staircases, Alice. They like ter change," Hagrid warned as he took her up to the third floor.

"Where are we going?" Alice asked. "What are we doing here? Am I really going to live here?"

"I'm goin' ter let Dumbledore answer all yer questions," said Hagrid. "He's much better at this than me. Sugarquill." A secret door responded to the password and swung open, revealing a spiral staircase. Hagrid knocked at the door at the top.

"Come in, Hagrid."

Alice looked up at Hagrid with surprise, but he only smiled, nodded and gently pushed her through the door. She recognized the headmaster from his picture on Chocolate Frog Trading Cards, but his eyes seemed kinder and more tired. Her parents sat in two chairs opposite Dumbledore's desk. Her sister stood between them. Alice looked down and mumbled, "Hi." The next moment she could hardly breathe through her parents' arms. 

"Oh thank god!," her father cried, "We were so worried!" He tilted her head up and kissed her forehead.

"Oh Alice!" said her mother into her hair. "You were supposed to be safe there." When she finally pulled away she had tears in her eyes.

"Er, ahem," interrupted the headmaster. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there are things we must discuss. Thank you, Hagrid. I believe the feast is still under way, if you'd like to join the festivities now."

"Thank yeh, sir," said Hagrid, slipping out of the door. "See yeh later, Alice."

"Bye Hagrid."

Alice's parents settled back into their chairs, but her father pulled her into his lap and her mother refused to release her hand. Mestra stood behind Mrs. Grey staring at her younger sister with something between fear and respect. 

"We are all very glad to see you safe, Alice," Dumbledore told her. 

"What's happened?" asked Alice. "Why are we here?"

"We were hoping that you could help us with that, darling," said her father.

"Me? But I didn't do anything. You want to talk to Lyness. She's a witch and she-"

"No, Alice, she isn't," corrected Dumbledore.

"She isn't?"

He smiled. "No dear, she's a Muggle. Neither she, nor her unfortunate mother has any magical powers."

"But sir, you don't understand! She was going to, and then Lyness, but she got hurt, and there was fire, but it was alright on account of the talisman, and then she, I mean, you're wrong-"

"Alice! You mustn't speak to the headmaster that way!" her sister interrupted.

"It's alright, Mestra. I want to know what happened. Alice, perhaps you could begin at the beginning and tell us all about your friend, Lyness?" asked Dumbledore.

Alice nodded and slowly told them about everything that had happened to her in Massachusetts. Her parents seemed confused and rather upset when she got to the part about mixing difficult potions with a girl she'd just met, but the headmaster managed to keep them from interrupting until she reached the arrival of the dagger.

A/N: For more information about the real "Friendship" see this website, or mail this address: 

http://www.salemweb.com/frndship/default.htm

Friends of FRIENDSHIP  
c/o The Salem Partnership  
Six Central Street  
Salem, Massachusetts, 01970  
Tel. 978-741-8100 - Fax 978-745-6131   
e-mail: info@salempartnership.org 


	15. The End

Chapter 15

"You let her stab you?!" exclaimed her sister. 

Her father held her more tightly. "We should never have sent you there."

"You went to her room after you discovered the knife?" asked her mother.

"Yes, mum," she responded softly.

"Mrs. Grey, Mr. Grey," said Dumbledore, "Please let her speak. I am sure that Alice has been through something extremely difficult. It would probably be best if she only had to repeat it once."

"Of course. You're right," mumbled her father. 

"But working spells with blood-"

"Hush, Cass," whispered her father, putting his hand on Mrs. Grey's where she gripped Alice's fingers. For once, her mother capitulated. Alice finished her story with only a few fearful, angry and shocked interjections from her family.

"So you see, Lyness did all the magic. Why would Hagrid take her to Salem if she was a Muggle?"

"That girl is at the Salem Institute now?" asked her father. 

"Yes, it seemed a good match," said Dumbledore. 

Mr. Grey agreed, "She should be an asset to the program. My Department is still in the planning process for a similar one here, of course. I'll have to keep a closer watch on the Institute; particularly if this girl has been such a good friend to Alice."

"Dad?" asked Alice, squirming in his tight embrace. "What are you talking about?"

Her father frowned.

"I believe the program will be made public soon, Tom. I'm sure that your family can be trusted until then," offered Dumbledore.

"Certainly," said her father. "Right then, girls. The Department of Muggle Affairs is working on a program to bring sympathetic Muggles into the Wizarding world."

"You're what?" his wife asked.

"The Salem Witches' Institute has already put a program into place which will educate young Muggles with an interest in magic. There are some charms that can be taught, and with You-Know-Who beginning to target more and more Muggle families, we felt that it would be best to enlist them in their own protection. If what Alice had told us is true, then this Muggle child has not only studied further than most third year witches, but she has shown incredible bravery and integrity. She stood up to her own mother at the risk of her life! That is exactly the kind of young person we need on our side," explained Mr. Grey.

"I told you she could do magic," muttered Alice.

"She hasn't yet," said Dumbledore.

"But Dad said-"

"He said that she had studied, and that she showed enviable qualities in her behavior. She has not, however, worked any magic as of yet. That is the purpose of the program. It is somewhat of an experiment to see if magic can be learned, or transferred, to non-magical people if they are receptive to it," said Dumbledore.

"Could it be… transferred… to me?" Alice murmured.

"Excuse me?" asked the headmaster.

"Alice's powers have been rather… slow in making themselves known," her mother supplied.

"I'm a squib," Alice simplified. Mestra gasped, and then looked quickly away. 

Dumbledore looked surprised for the first time.

"Don't say that, sweetheart," said her father. "You don't know anything for certain."

"I do," said Dumbledore. "Alice is most certainly not a squib. She is, in fact, an incredibly powerful witch. We would never have been able to locate her so quickly had she not performed a quite significant spell."

"But I didn't-"

"You did. Lyness's talisman only worked because you believed it would. The spell she wrote to protect you all from her mother, the one that made the poor woman disappear, only worked when you repeated the words. I believe your cousin's illness was also caused, unconsciously of course, by your magic."

"Why would I want to hurt Beth?" asked Alice, indignantly.

"You were a bit afraid of her, weren't you? Because of how strongly she felt about Lyness. You were worried that she would find out where you came from and hate you as well," he suggested gently. 

Alice lowered her head, considering, then nodded.

"The talisman was meant to keep you safe from all harm, was it not?" he asked. 

She nodded again.

"And your cousin only became ill when she was near you after you had attempted some kind of magic, or spent time with Lyness. The talisman acted its part well. It distracted her whenever she might have noticed something strange. It disabled her when she might have become harsh with you."

"She blamed Lyness…"

"Was Lyness nearby when she was ill?"

The first time Beth had gotten sick she'd been in the bathroom. After Alice's first meeting with Lyness, when she'd gone to get the dry clothes, Lyness had stayed in her room. Then Beth had been weak when they sat on the living room couch. Lyness had stayed upstairs. Even when Alice had gotten to Beth in the pentagram, Lyness had fallen outside the kitchen.

"But she made the talisman…"

"With your blood," Dumbledore reminded her. 

"Then is it all my fault?" Alice asked.

"It is your fault, Alice, that you are still alive," Dumbledore responded. He smiled. "From what I've heard today, it is also your fault that Beth, Jake and Lyness are still alive. And even Mrs. Rice is still alive because of you." He looked at her parents, "Causing someone else to disparate is strong magic, and difficult to track when used imprecisely. Since Alice is so young, I doubt that she'll have sent her far. Local aurors will certainly locate her soon. Then perhaps we will get some answers. There was no magic in that house before Alice arrived, but I do not doubt what Alice says she saw. If Muggles are attempting magic, I'd like to know why."

"She said she was serving the Dark Lord," Alice offered.

"She what?!" her mother exclaimed.

"Did I leave that out?" Alice asked sheepishly. "She kept talking about him as the Prince of Darkness… I thought maybe she was just…"

"Insane?" supplied Dumbledore. "It's possible, but lately Voldemort's supporters have a rather long reach. I believe I'll have a word with the American aurors. For now we must discuss the arrangements for your stay here."

"She's staying?" asked Mestra.

"Sweetheart, it's the only place where we'll know she's safe," her father said.

"But she's only ten! First years have to be eleven!"

"Mestra!" scolded her mother. Alice suppressed a smile. So Perfect Mestra was flawed after all. Alice couldn't remember her sister ever arguing with an adult. Or putting herself before Alice for that matter. Good for her. 

"She is correct, Mrs. Grey. Alice cannot join the school as a first year student."

"Then what are we doing here?" her mother pressed.

Dumbledore paused for a moment before continuing. "Alice is not the only child in danger in our world. While I cannot protect them all, I will offer what protection I can give to as many as I can while I am here. I intend to open a Lower School. The castle is large enough to accommodate three more classes. We will send invitations first to the most at-risk children; Muggle-borns, children of mixed heritage, and the children of families most openly fighting Deatheaters. The Lower School will teach the same lessons that the children would learn at their home schools, but offer them more protection. There are already several new families moving to Hogsmeade to be closer to us. The entire faculty is working on new protection spells for the village and the castle. With any luck the war may never interrupt their studies."

"Splendid," mumbled Alice.

"Most of the students in the Lower School will live in Hogsmeade with their families, but a few will board in the castle with the original School, for their protection. We will have to place them in whichever dormitories have space. They will be Sorted, as usual, when they begin their first year as Hogwarts students, after their eleventh birthdays," continued the headmaster.

"Are we moving to Hogsmeade?" Alice asked her father.

"No, sweetheart, you're going to live in the castle. Your mother and I… will be needed at the Ministry," apologized her father.

"I thought you might join your sister in Ravenclaw until the Sorting," said Dumbledore.

A/N: so this was supposed to be 7 chapters… then 10... then 13... 15 feels good to me. This is the end of The Squib. Expect a sequel as soon as I come up with a title that doesn't sound like I ripped off Lewis Carroll. Hope you liked it J 


End file.
